


Four Khajiit fall into Thedas

by VanillaHorizon



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Bar Room Brawl, College of Winterhold - Freeform, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Dragonborn | Dovahkiin in Thedas (Dragon Age), Dragons, Dysfunctional Family, Elsweyr, Eventual Relationships, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, Inappropriate Humor, Interracial By Fantasy Standards, Interracial Relationship, Interspecies Relationship(s), J'zargo doesn't like Solas, M/M, Mages, Mages (Dragon Age), Mages and Templars, Magic, Morag Tong, Sexual Humor, Skyhold (Dragon Age), Taverns, Team as Family, Templars (Dragon Age), The Fade, Thedas (Dragon Age), Work In Progress, unrelated siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2020-05-13 03:49:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19243231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanillaHorizon/pseuds/VanillaHorizon
Summary: A mishap occurs while the khajiit Dragonborn, N'feri, and her companions are at the College of Winterhold, strange things ensue.Perhaps better things will unfold for Inigo, Kharjo, J'zargo, and N'feri in this new land they fell into.(Rated Mature for adult references, adult situations, foul language, canon-typical violence, and drinking)(Adding ships to the tags as I go)





	1. Into Thedas they fell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I discussed this idea with a friend (Even though he is not an avid game player such as myself) and we found that the Dragonborn's name in this story could be pronounced many different ways but in my head her name is pronounced Na-fear-E but you can call her what you want, seeing as I'm not the voice in your head narrating this.

The sun was shining beautifully on the farms just outside of Whiterun's walls on that pleasant Morndas morning.

"Ah, fresh air," N'feri said out loud to her two fellow khajiit companions as she stretched her arms up into the air.

The bright sunlight added even more contrast to the snow-white stripes in her pitch black fur.

"You know, if you were not so special then we would not be allowed inside the cities you take us to so often," Inigo told the woman jokingly.

Kharjo hummed an agreement, "This one is most fortunate that he is allowed to step foot inside the cities of Skyrim, much less sleep there." he said.

"What are they going to do to me, tell me my traveling companions can't sleep in a house that I own?" N'feri scoffed as they walked across the drawbridge.

As the trio walked she noticed the caravan setting up beside the road, Ri'saad waved at the known thief and her two brothers in arms upon seeing them.

"Just the man I was hoping to see today." N'feri greeted.

"Ri'saad was about to say the same when he saw the three of you approaching." 

A quick exchange of pickpocketed and stolen goods took place between the merchant and the Dragonborn shortly after they exchanged pleasantries.

"Now, why were you hoping to see us?" Kharjo questioned, prompting Ri'saad to pull a small box out of his pocket.

"Because if the group of you were to see J'zargo in your travels Ri'saad had hoped to entrust this to someone he trusts rather than a stranger, Ri'saad doesn't trust couriers as far as he can throw them, which is admittedly not far."

N'feri agreed quickly upon hearing the request of her and her companions, "We were heading to Winterhold anyway, we'll be sure he gets it." she told the merchant.

"It was sent in with the last shipment of supplies, from his family back home," he explained.

"May the twin moons bless your travels, friend." were the last words spoken to the trio before they left on their journey.

***

Kharjo and Inigo had been left to their own devices, being told to stay at the inn for a bit while N'feri ran some errands for a few of the college's inhabitants before finding J'zargo and giving him the box sent from Elsweyr.

Everything was going so well, soul gems were delivered, Tolfdir's Alembic was returned to him once again, the old man was always misplacing it, and N'feri had just given J'zargo the box Ri'saad had asked her to deliver, which had been opened to reveal a strange looking necklace inside, when Onmund came rushing into the room shortly after a ground-rattling boom that seemed to echo all around the room.

"Arch-mage!" he panted, "Something is going on, it looks like one of those ruptures like the one that appeared near Dragon Bridge." that statement made N'feri charge out of the room and out into the courtyard without a second thought.

Onmund was right, it did resemble the rupture that appeared near Dragon Bridge, aside from it appearing to have a pulsating strange green hue to it at least, but N'feri knew what she needed to do, so she ran down to retrieve her brothers in arms.

She didn't get far down the walkway when her two comrades came into view, jogging up the path, "Inigo, I need the staff of Magnus, it's another rupture that needs closing." she told him quickly.

"This one does not like all of this magic stuff, it makes the fur all frizzy," Kharjo commented as the three made their way up to the college courtyard.

Everyone seemed to be gathered there, but still staying a fair distance away from the rupture, even Urag had come outside to examine it.

Inigo walked beside N'feri as she neared the green area suspended in the air, followed closely by Kharjo, "It seems to be getting bigger." Onmund said from behind the khajiit.

N'feri raised her staff to the rupture but she did not get a chance to do much of anything else because the staff of Magnus had started to split up the middle and the ground started to quake just before a large horned beast attempted to come through the rupture.

The creature compared to a large frost atronach in size and loosely resembled a daedra, but looked much more menacing even as it struggled to fit through the rupture.

Most all of the mages backed away, too scared to even attempt to fight it, even the Dragonborn and her companions stood there frozen in disbelief.

"Unlike the lot of you, J'zargo is no scaredy cat!" the khajiit mage stepped forward in front of the teachers and students of the college, readying his magic in hand.

He let loose his destructive magic against the still struggling beast and that was when everything truly went sideways.

The necklace N'feri had delivered to him was around his neck and started to crackle with electricity and emitted a sharp whistle, followed by a loud snap just as sort of ward surrounded the four khajiit and the strange beast who was now almost through the rupture.

All of the mages who were sealed out started to attack the sphere shaped ward, trying to get through, a few daggers chipping when they made contact, and destructive spells bouncing back toward the group when they didn't appear to be absorbed by the sphere.

Even Urag took his turn trying to get into the sphere by charging at the thing full speed, but it did not falter.

The group of khajiit inside of the sphere were stuck, but at least the battle they were going to be forced into was in their favor, four to one.

"We've killed hundreds of dragons, this bastard will go down just like they all did," N'feri told her comrades just as the creature's feet touched the ground.

Atronachs were summoned by J'zargo and N'feri, even a Dremora from the sanguine rose which Kharjo was carrying while destructive spells were thrown and a flurry of dagger slashes hit the back of the beast when it had its attention turned away.

When N'feri's Magicka ran low she pulled her daedric daggers out and started slashing away at the creature.

She could hear her fellow khajiit coughing because of the smoke filling the sphere from all of the fire and lighting being thrown at the beast but could not see them, "It's not working!" one of her comrades yelled to her, though which one she could not tell.

"Inigo, Kharjo!" she yelled for their attention, "Volendrung, and Headsman to the back of its knees." N'feri readied the unrelenting force shout on the tip of her tongue.

"What about J'zargo, what do you want this one to do?"

With a sigh, N'feri glanced back at him, "If this doesn't work, you're in charge of blasting this thing's ass to oblivion." she told him, to which he quickly nodded.

The two warriors quickly swung their weapons, the Headsman's axe bit into the creature's flesh, while the hit from Volendrung took it down to its knees with an ear-splitting noise that was loud enough to rival a dragon shout.

N'feri took that moment to her advantage, she belted out all three words of the unrelenting shout toward the beast's head, causing it to flip backward into the rupture from where it came.

Unfortunately, that action had a side effect, either from the unrelenting force shout hitting the creature, or from the creature hitting the rupture, or maybe even both.

Something on Nirn shifted in that single moment.

The rupture turned into a whirlpool of sorts, a doorway perhaps, the staff of Magnus flew off of N'feri's back and into the portal as the wind picked up, starting to pull them towards the rupture.

All four of the khajiit dropped to their knees, crouching in an attempt to steady themselves, claws digging into the stone beneath them, fur and tails whipping around wildly inside of the sphere.

Each of the four were attempting to speak, but even while yelling they could not hear each other over the wind.

Those on the outside of the sphere looked on in horror, unable to hear the combat, nor the magic inside of the strange ward, but they did see the Dragonborn and the other three khajiit struggling to stay firmly on the ground as wind whipped around them wildly.

The stone J'zargo's claws had dug into was starting to give way as he attempted even harder to not be tossed into the rupture, but unfortunately, luck was against him during that moment.

Onmund started attempting to get inside of the sphere once again when he saw his fellow student struggling to keep his feet on the ground, no one else tried because they were mostly all injured by their earlier attempts, so all they did was stare helplessly as the events took place.

J'zargo lost his grip mere moments after his necklace flew off of his neck and into the rupture, from this a sort of domino effect took place, Kharjo took one of his claws off of the ground and grabbed the mage by the robes just as he flew past, giving him enough time to dig one of his claws into the ground beside the warrior.

One of J'zargo's hands gripped Kharjo's leg in an attempt to steady each of them, but that did not help them as much as they thought, because they both ended up being blown backward into the rupture mere moments later.

Upon seeing two of her companions being tossed into the rupture, N'feri quickly glanced over to Inigo just as he looked to her.

The two of them nodded to each other in silent understanding before they jumped into the portal behind their khajiiti brethren, both completely unaware of the screaming outside of the ward coming from almost everyone watching the events unfold.

As soon as the four of the khajiit were through the rupture it closed, the ward shrunk and disappeared, with no evidence either of the two things were ever there, other than the four missing khajiit and their claw marks in the courtyard of the college.

***

"Ow, someone landed on my tail and it wasn't me," Inigo said shortly after the four of them had landed in a heap on the ground, a muffled sorry came from either J'zargo or Kharjo who were both face down in the dirt under N'feri and a fine layer of dust and gravel.

N'feri raised her head and upper torso off of J'zargo's lower back before she shook the dust out of her fur and glanced at their surroundings, "I don't think we are in Skyrim anymore." her voice echoed eerily around them.

Kharjo coughed in reply, "Someone's tail is in this one's ear and his foot is under something heavy, as is his neck." he wheezed.

"That's my tail," N'feri told him as she removed her thigh from the back of his neck, "And that's Inigo on your foot." she laughed.

"Someone is on this one's robes as well, please move," J'zargo whined as he tried to scoot away from the pile.

***

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the land that the four khajiit had landed, a midnight black wolf with several red glistening eyes heard the commotion and started towards the noise.

"Four khajiit get sucked into a portal," Inigo mused out loud, "Sounds like the start of every bad adventure tale." he laughed.

"Don't you mean it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke?" N'feri asked as she helped him up.

J'zargo was looking around at the green haze that seemed to surround them, "This one feels the magic of this place." his words seemed to hang in the air while N'feri too took a chance to get a better look at their surroundings.

"The air does seem wrong though like we shouldn't be here, it makes me think of my visit to sovengarde or the soul cairn in some ways." She sniffed the air a bit, "It reeks of the same stench of power the eye of Magnus had." she told the younger mage.

Kharjo visibly shivered at the thought of magic, slowly walking away from his place beside Inigo, "As this one said, he does not like all of this magic nonsense." he muttered, mainly talking to himself as he walked closer to where N'feri was standing.

"Wait, what's that?" Inigo turned around rapidly, looking in all directions for whatever he sensed.

He had either heard or smelled something or someone approaching them through the green fog, so N'feri called her aura whisper.

She silently turned Kharjo and J'zargo toward the closest aura she had sensed, got a spell ready in one hand and rested her other on the hilt of the dagger she had sheathed on her hip, "I sense you, reveal yourself or I will be forced to do something drastic." she growled.

The wolf took slow, confident strides toward the group, "Mar solas ena mar din." (DA. Elvish: Your pride will be your death) the wolf spoke in a calm tone without moving its mouth, not showing how intrigued he was at the creatures and their strange appearances.

N'feri did not understand what the wolf's words meant, but she knew that tone, it was the voice of old wisdom, the same tone that many of the dragons she knew spoke in, "I do not know your words, but I know your meaning, Grohiik." (Dragon tongue: Wolf) the last word was spoken with a small fraction of the thu'um poured into it.

"You appear to have a soul as old as bellanaris," (DA. Elvish: eternity) the wolf started, "But you are not old yourself, how is this possible?" the words were heard by all four of the khajiit but only N'feri held onto them.

"I have many souls, now where are we?" N'feri agitatedly hissed.

Her companions just looked expectantly at the wolf, it wasn't the weirdest thing any of them had ever seen while in the Dragonborn's company at least.

Actually a wolf with several glowing red eyes that spoke probably didn't even make it into the top ten, taking into consideration the talking dog that belonged to Clavicus Vile himself, werebears, a khajiit that breathed fire, a dragon skeleton that acted like a living dragon and talking doors, weird just wasn't even that surprising to them anymore.

"Garas, I will tell you." (DA. Elvish: Come) the wolf turned and headed back the way he came.

Though reluctant, the group of khajiit followed, as they guessed he wanted them to do.

"Ir mirthadra to meet someone so different, but I must ask what you are and who." (DA. Elvish: I am honored)

A voice prickled in the back of her mind quietly, telling her that the words he just spoke that she couldn't understand were not bad ones.

"We are khajiit, now what kind of wolf are you?" J'zargo snapped at the wolf, causing him to stop mid-step and glance back towards the group.

"This place is called the fade, a place where time passes differently, how you got here I do not know," he started, clearly and purposefully ignoring J'zargo, "Though you should know how to get out, I smell some of the old magic on at least two of you." with those last words he seemed to evaporate where he stood.

"Fiem." (Dragon tongue: Fade) the word came from the back of N'feri's mind, she remembered one of the greybeards had said it once, somehow she knew the word was important at that moment.

J'zargo was silently fuming about being ignored by the 'ugly dog' as he called the strange wolf quietly after it disappeared.

N'feri paced back and forth with J'zargo while they tried to think of a way to get out of the strange place, "You haven't perfected the transportation scrolls yet, have you?" she asked her fellow mage, to which he shook his head sadly, just before tripping and falling on his face with a surprised grunt.

He grumbled a few curse words native to Elsweyr as he rolled over to see what he tripped over.

"The staff of Magnus!" he heard N'feri shout as she picked up what now looked like an old piece of driftwood.

"That's the staff?" he stood back up and rushed to get a closer look at what once was a magic artifact of great power.

"Half of it at least." she sighed.

Inigo looked over her shoulder at it, "Where's the ball thingy that goes on the end?" he questioned, to which she just shrugged because she truly had no idea.

***

"Feim miiraad gaar!" (Dragon tongue: Fade path/door/doorway release) N'feri finally shouted after what seemed like hours had passed, and when the thu'um rattled the world around them, an opening appeared.

"Yes!" Inigo cheered, "You did it!" he danced around happily, just before accidentally falling into the opening.

N'feri jumped into the magical doorway after him without a second thought, leaving her other two companions there staring cluelessly at each other and the magic door.

Finally, J'zargo looked at Kharjo, shrugged and jumped through the doorway too.

"Dragonborn, the Nordic hero of legend, jumps from tall cliffs and walks through magic portals without knowing where or when they lead or even what they do." Kharjo shook his head, sighed then walked through the doorway too.

***

Inquisitor Adaar, Dorian, Bull and Solas had just packed up camp and were on their way back to Skyhold, "It should only be a few more hours until we get back." Kira had told her group of friends as they walked up a small embankment.

"What was that?" Dorian stopped, causing Bull to run into him, "Listen!" the mage whispered.

In the distance they could hear deeply accented voices, "Ugh, this one smells singed fur and he hopes it is not his." one of the voices said.

Adaar waved for her companions to follow her so they could investigate, "It better not be more angry templars and mages." Bull mumbled.

"No worries, J'zargo." a female voice comforted before the voices all got extremely quiet.

Solas felt the magic one of them had used, something he hadn't felt in ages, old magic like he felt that night in the fade all of those many centuries ago when he encountered four strange cat-like people.

"Why can't we hear them anymore?" Dorian asked the Inquisitor, to which she didn't have time to answer because a crackle of magic and the sound of weapons being drawn behind them interrupted them.

"Because we are behind you." the female of the group hissed, now Solas realized why he felt like he recognized that voice because he did recognize it, though he couldn't completely sure because he could not see any of the group's faces beyond hoods, masks, and helms.

Bull was the first to turn around, "Four against four, I like those odds." he said just before the woman cast some type of magic over her companions and said three strange words.

Next thing the Inquisitor knew, Bull was on his ass with one of the people on his chest, while the three others seemed to have disappeared.

"I am N'feri, hear me shout." The woman on Bull's chest growled, somehow her words shook the ground below them.

"You have a tail," Dorian said dumbly, and sure enough when Kira looked closer, the woman on top of Bull with a strange blade in one hand did, in fact, have a long furry tail.

"I'd be careful with your next words, friend." a voice called from behind Dorian.

Dorian turned around quickly, but didn't see anyone, "Who are you?" he asked the air.

"I am Inigo the Brave, you are too small to be a Nord, so you must be an Imperial." he mused.

"No, my name is Dorian." as Dorian said that a figure appeared in front of him in mages robes like nothing he had ever seen before, they pulsated with strange light and colors.

The figure in front of him sniffed subtly, "This one is J'zargo." he introduced as he pulled his hood down, revealing his face and ears.

"We are khajiit." another voice said, but this one was behind Adaar.

The turned quickly to find the source of the voice was the third of the group, someone in heavy armor darker than any armor she had ever seen before, with horns on the helm, "Kharjo, companion of the Dragonborn." he said as he held his hand out to the female Qunari.

"I am Inquisitor Kira Adaar, Dorian has already introduced himself, the Qunari your friend put on his rear is The Iron Bull, and the bald elf is Solas." upon introducing Solas, two of N'feri's companions hissed, and Inigo who appeared behind her started to growl, catching everyone off guard.

"I smell lies on that one," Inigo growled, the fur on his tail visibly fluffing up.

N'feri stood and got off of Bull's chest, "I smell it too, Inigo." she informed her friend.

"You can smell lies?" Dorian's mouth hung open.

N'feri laughed uneasily, "Only the big lies, but be careful trusting that mer." she nodded towards the elf.

"He smells like the wolf," Kharjo whispered just loud enough for his khajiit brethren to hear him, but no one else.

***

Though the four khajiit were on their guard, they did agree to walk with Kira and her companions back to Skyhold where they could stay until they figured out where they planned to go next.

No one commented on their tails, and they had only seen J'zargo's face so far as they neared Skyhold, "So, are all of you cat people?" Bull asked, gaining an elbow to the ribs from Kira.

"We are khajiit, not cat people." N'feri corrected, "Now, what race are the two of you with horns?" she asked.

"You've never met a Qunari before?" Kira questioned.

"I've met werewolves, assassins, vampires, orcs, snow elves, nords, imperials, dunmer, bosmer, you name it, I have met at least one of each, except the deep elves before this day and now Qunari apparently were on that list."

Solas raised his eyebrow, "A few of those I don't believe I've ever even heard of." he said, to which J'zargo scoffed.

"Apparently living underground for generations can do that to a mer," J'zargo said.

"That's the second time one of you has called him that, what does that mean?" Dorian turned his face towards J'zargo.

Though he could not tell, N'feri, Inigo and Kharjo all three gave him questioning looks, trying to gauge if he was serious or not.

The three of them were shocked to see that he was serious.

For a majority of their journey to Skyhold, they all exchanged questions, stories, and explanations about many things, from the several races of elf that roamed Tamriel, which Solas was extremely interested in, to the differences in each other's magic compared to one another, which J'zargo and Dorian couldn't quit talking about.

"You know, N'feri is the arch-mage at the college of Winterhold," J'zargo told Dorian after Dorian had explained how the circles used to work before they most all fell apart.

"That is intriguing, but I do wonder where you four are from that's so different." Dorian mused.

"As do I, the place you have described as your home is like nothing I have ever heard of and it makes me wonder if it is just a fictional tale you have made up." Solas hummed.

"Kaver boka balto jaji itrola Owazmer wo jan Alimer-ifu skai?" (Ta'agra: Who wants [to] axe that hideous Falmer with his Altmer-like pride?) N'feri asked her khajiiti companions to which she gained various mumbles of agreement and even a snicker from J'zargo who had more than enough of snooty Altmer attitude from Arcano and his days at the college.

"Well, now I feel left out," Kira told Bull as soon as she heard Inigo start to quietly laugh too.

"Uh, J'zargo, you might want to cover your face again, lest someone accuse you of being a demon or something equally ignorant," Dorian told the khajiiti mage, with a bit of concern in his voice.

J'zargo hummed a reply as he covered his features once again, "Is there something you can do about your tails?" Kira asked the group.

"Ah, you wish for us to hide our tails, then we shall hide them best we can," N'feri grabbed her tail and wrapped it around her waist, tucking it into her armor, "Boys, tuck your tails." that got a few grumbled replies about indignity, wounded pride and embarrassment, but in the long run all tails were tucked away for the time being.

Jaba rik jajo khisro bidaka. (Ta'agra: That's how this journey started.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations go like "SENTENCE IN FICTIONAL LANGUAGE" (NAME OF FICTIONAL LANGUAGE: TRANSLATED SENTENCE IN ENGLISH)
> 
> [Dragon tongue or Thu'um translations can be found here](https://www.thuum.org/)  
> [DA. Elvish is here](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Elven_language)  
> and  
> [Ta'agra Project gave me these translations](https://www.taagra.com/dictionary.php)
> 
> Your support is appreciated with kudos and comments.


	2. Khajiit meet the Inquisition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They arrive at Skyhold and things do not go as the Inquisitor probably hoped they would and somebody gets shouted at.

Walking through Skyhold with double the amount of people she left with was sure to catch at least someone's attention, especially considering the strange armor and robes the four newcomers were wearing.

"Looks like you found us some more misfits, huh?" the voice belonged to Varric.

Though no one could tell, N'feri, Inigo and Kharjo were surprised to see such a short man.

The man in question was shorter than the smallest of Breton and shorter than N'feri herself who was small even by female cathay standards.

"Yes, but maybe we should go somewhere private to make introductions, they aren't from around here." the Inquisitor chose her words carefully for fear of someone overhearing.

"You want to meet up in the war room?"

"That would probably be for the best, please grab Cassandra, Cole, Vivienne and whoever else you can find that we occasionally travel with if you don't mind," Kira asked, to which he nodded and smiled before promptly disappearing.

"It appears no one else will ask, so J'zargo will, what race of human was that?" 

N'feri hissed his name, "That's not something to ask someone so casually!" the words came out menacingly.

"Oh, like the lot of you were not wondering this too?" J'zargo told the group.

"Varric happens to be a dwarf, not a human," Dorian interjected before the two could start cursing each other in their native tongue.

His answer caught N'feri's attention immediately, "Are you sure?" the question was followed by an explanation, "I mean, he doesn't have the ears to be a Dwemer unless the tales are wrong." she mused.

"Wait, what do you mean he doesn't have the ears for it?" Bull was the one who questioned the woman.

"The Dwemer were just that, mer, he was no elf because he did not have the ears of a mer, meaning either the stories are wrong or we most definitely are not in Skyrim anymore."

***

Almost all of the Inquisitor's companions gathered around the room along with a few other people including one of Bull's Chargers.

"You should have never brought them here until we had the chance to make sure they were no threat." Leliana was scolding the Inquisitor.

"I assure you we may be a threat but not to your friend nor you." N'feri tilted her head to the side a bit.

"That is unless you give us reason to become hostile," she told the fuming redhead.

She couldn't help but notice when the heavily armored Commander's hand twitched on the hilt of his sword.

Inigo leaned in close to his friend and loudly whispered in her ear, "I don't think your help is being helpful, Friend." to which he gained a small muffled laugh from the Ambassador standing beside the Commander.

"I say we trust them, I mean they have had their weapons all this time and haven't decided to attack us." Varric sided with the Inquisitor.

"I must admit that he has a point and I have seen the smallest one knock Bull down without breaking a sweat so the fact that they haven't killed us or even attempted should be a point in their favor," Dorian told them.

"So they attacked you already?" Leliana asked the Inquisitor accusingly.

"Not helping, Dorian!" Kira huffed.

Bull began laughing, gaining attention from everyone in the room.

"Is something funny, Boss?" Krem asked as soon as he saw Bull wipe a tear away from his eye.

"As a matter of fact, something is." he sat up straighter in his seat.

"They didn't attack us." he started, "We were attempting to sneak up on them once we heard them, but failed and because of something I said, the lady cat knocked me on my ass while her friends disappeared for a bit."

His explanation was simple but Leliana still caught the 'lady cat' part and narrowed her eyes at N'feri in confusion.

Though N'feri nor her companions caught the suspicious look the redhead gave the woman.

"What do you mean by 'disappeared for a bit'?" was the question Cullen asked.

"Hold on, I'm more intrigued by the whole her knocking you on your ass thing." Varric had turned his full attention to the Qunari by this time.

"If you're intrigued by that, then you should see their tails." Solas finally broke his silence and spoke to the group.

Solas' comment gained muffled replies from around the room, most of which were various noises of confusion.

"I suppose you were right to tell us to hide them then, especially given this response," N'feri said calmly, directing her gratitude toward the Inquisitor before letting her tail fall from its hiding place around her waist to flick side to side behind her.

Her brothers in arms immediately followed suit, causing Vivienne to gasp quite loudly.

"By all, that is good and holy in this world, what are you?" she was already grasping her staff tightly in her hand by the time she spoke.

"Afo jer khrassa." (Ta'agra: Check your claws.) N'feri whispered the warning to her comrades just loud enough for their ears and their ears only to pick up on the words.

A few barely audible noises were made, letting her know that they had heard her before she raised her gaze to their own.

"We are khajiit." was the response N'feri gave them before she nodded for her fellow khajiit to show their faces.

Kharjo and Inigo started to remove their helmets as N'feri and J'zargo lowered their heads to take off the masks covering their features.

After J'zargo and N'feri removed their hoods too, the four of them raised their heads within mere seconds of each other.

All of the Inquisition members reacted very differently upon seeing their cat-like features.

The most violent reactions came from Leliana, Cassandra and Cullen who all three drew their blades when they laid their eyes upon the four khajiit which made Inigo and Kharjo draw their own weapons while J'zargo called destruction magic to his palms.

N'feri kept her wits about her while her brethren had their ears back with teeth showing as they hissed and growled.

She knew exactly what she needed to do as soon as she saw the uneasy peace caused by their presence simply start shattering around her.

"Kaan drem ov!" (Dragon tongue: Kyne peace trust - Kyne's Peace shout) the words coming from her mouth caused the stone floor beneath their feet to rumble.

The shout hit the six who were prepared to fight and as it did, it seemed to have glided over them like a gentle snow flurry, causing chill bumps to run across the three humans' skin and causing the three khajiit to subtly shiver.

Each of the groups' eyes flashed a peaceful shade of blue before they all six sheathed their weapons.

N'feri didn't know but behind her, the shout had even affected Vivienne, calming her unease.

Solas was on his feet as soon as the woman opened her mouth because he could feel the power she was about to use, even before she used it.

"What in all of Thedas was that?" Dorian was the first to say anything after what happened.

"My friend, that was a dragon shout," J'zargo told the confused mage as he attempted to shake off the effects of the shout by running a claw down his face.

"Holy shit." was all Varric could say in response to what he had just witnessed.

"I don't know if I'm turned on or scared right now," Bull mumbled as he stared at the strange woman in utter disbelief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter because I felt like ending it there.  
> I don't plan on this actually having much actual plot after I get the build-up to people getting to know everyone else, so if you're hoping for a creative plot then you might end up disappointed.  
> I came up with the phrase 'Check your claws' as something of a phrase some Khajiit say to others basically meaning 'Keep your guard up' and in this chapter I took some liberty with the Kyne's Peace shout, because I actually headcanon shouts becoming even stronger once the Dragonborn defeats Alduin. So yes N'feri can use that shout to calm humans now.  
> ___  
> [Ta'agra Project](https://www.taagra.com/dictionary.php)  
> [Dragon tongue](https://www.thuum.org/)


	3. Perception, Bodices and Silver Bars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few are suspicious of N'feri and her three companions. N'feri and J'zargo are keeping an eye on that bald elf and there's some brotherly J'zargo because N'feri needed comforted.

The room was rather silent in the next few moments that followed N'feri's shout.

"They wanted to kill you because they think you're demons, but you didn't want them to die so you made them stop." Cole's voice was quiet but everyone in the room heard him anyway.

"Attacking before your victim is even provoked nearly never ends well for either party," N'feri said, her accent sounding even thicker than usual.

"Your Inquisitor is an honorable woman, and the magic here is different than that of our home, so with your blessing, we hope to stay for a time until the sands shift or take us home," J'zargo told the group of advisors.

"Of course you can stay." Josephine blurted out the agreement immediately, gaining an annoyed look from the still struggling spymaster, "I mean, your- er, whatever you just did could help us in the near future should we have need of it." she added kindly.

"Welcome to the Inquisition!" Kira smiled at the four khajiit.

Vivienne shook her head, "Are you sure this is a good idea, Darling?" she questioned.

"I mean for all we know they might just be demons as well." upon saying the last bit she looked toward where Cole was standing.

"I do not know what these demons are that you speak of, but I believe we may have encountered one before we found ourselves here," Inigo spoke up.

"Jaga ifu- it was a large, evil thing." (Ta'agra: Large like-) Kharjo mumbled, still a bit shaken from the effects of Kyne's Peace.

N'feri and J'zargo mumbled agreements.

"I have met murderers and cannibals that did not reek of evil such as that creature did." N'feri visibly shivered at the thought.

"It was such a chaotic creature." Inigo agreed.

"Vakota rian-Owazmer, jan rabiba korna." (Ta'agra: Watch [the] dog-Falmer, he has knowledge.) N'feri whispered to J'zargo upon seeing Solas' expression change when the creature was mentioned.

"Vakoka jaji." (Ta'agra: [I] Perceived that.) was his reply, careful not to look at anyone in the room too long except for her while they spoke.

Apparently, all of the Inquisitor's advisors were free of the shout's effects by this time because several of the occupants of the room were staring at N'feri and her companions suspiciously.

Leliana leaned in close to Josephine's ear and whispered something in a language that only they seemed to know.

"Mindok vonmindoraan tinvaak." (Dragon tongue: Know incomprehensible language - Noncanon shout to learn an unknown language) N'feri whispered the words to herself as the two women also spoke.

Solas again felt the strange cat-like woman using whatever magic or power she possessed but he did not see nor hear her using it.

"Qu'est-ce que tu penses?" (Orlesian/French sub: What do you think?) Leliana asked the shorter woman.

That was the beginning of the two women's conversation and the rest was the dark-skinned woman defending N'feri and her companions against the redhead's suspicious view of everything.

"I thank you for your attempt to change your friend's view of things, but we are very much used to being looked upon with suspicion no matter where we go, so she does not bother us," N'feri started to address the ambassador but did not quite recall the name Kira had called her upon entering the war room.

"Josephine was it?" she attempted to show a kind expression as she directed her words toward the ambassador.

"Wait, how did you understand what they were saying?" Cullen asked her immediately.

"The answer is simple, I understand the language, but how I do is a conversation for another time."

Her answer was simple and to the point with a touch of finality to it.

"Yes, it is getting rather late and this one has not had the privilege of doing much of anything since we arrived." Kharjo shifted on his feet, a bit uneased by all of the people in the room.

"J'zargo agrees, it is far past time for a decent meal and a suitable drink."

N'feri hummed an agreement and nodded before turning her attention toward the Inquisition's advisors.

"Yes, my brothers-in-arms are hungry so if you could kindly either point us in the direction of the nearest tavern or a field to set up our tents that also happens to be near a forest ripe for hunting we will show ourselves out."

Bull leaned close to Krem, "I bet she hunts like a tiger, ripping the skin off with her claws and teeth." he whispered, thinking that the khajiit wouldn't be able to hear him.

"The only thing I rip off with my teeth and claws are bodices," she said after she turned her attention to the Qunari.

Her response gained various noises of disgust from several of the room's occupants, an eye-roll from Inigo, along with a quickly muffled giggle from Josephine, and straight laughter from Krem, Bull, Kira and Varric while Kharjo just shook his head at her shenanigans.

"I like you already!" Varric wheezed as he attempted to stop laughing.

"Makers breath," Cullen whispered as his face took on a bright shade of red.

"You will be staying here in Skyhold so no need for tents and such," Kira told the group of khajiit.

Leliana ignored the woman's comment and gave Cullen a pointed look.

"Yes, and for the near future you will be under strict rules when it comes to venturing about without someone else, for your safety of course," Cullen explained.

"You have no need to worry about our safety and should we be staying here then perhaps I will compensate you for our time spent here." N'feri reached into the satchel on her hip and pulled out a small coin purse.

"No, I assure you that is not necessary." Josephine objected, but not before N'feri already had a palm full of gold coins.

"As you so wish." was her reply before she dropped the coins back into the purse.

Bull was leaning to the side to get a good look at what she was doing and whistled once she put the coin purse back into her satchel.

"Are all of those gold coins?" he asked the khajiit.

"Of course they are, what else could they be?" J'zargo scoffed causing N'feri to quietly let out a laugh.

"If you are to be so nosey, I also have several silver bars on me, along with a pouch of precious gems and I happen to stay alert enough to cut off any appendage that gets close enough to take them." her words were said in a friendly tone, but they were also a serious warning.

Her warning had Bull smiling as he raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Come on, I'll show you to the tavern before Tiny gets himself in trouble," Varric told the khajiit as he headed toward the door, followed closely by Kira and Krem.

"We will be speaking to you four tomorrow morning," Leliana told them with a cold, monotone voice that had the fur on N'feri's neck standing on end.

***

By the time the four khajiit made it to the tavern they had all hidden their faces once again but decided against hiding their tails, which may have led to a patron making a comment upon their entrance that had N'feri in a sour mood already.

As they sat in the darkest corner and ate, J'zargo approached N'feri on her side of the table.

"Roliter." (Ta'agra: Sister) he greeted with an exaggerated purr.

N'feri grumbled unintelligibly in reply.

"What has my favorite friend in such a foul mood?" she didn't answer.

She continued just swirling the drink in her tankard instead.

"This one bets it is the sejozay that the redhead sent to keep an eye on us that is making you so blue." (Ta'agra: furless) he hummed quietly as he glanced across the tavern at the bald-headed man that had followed them.

"No worries, liter." (Ta'agra: brother) she finally spoke, "I am fine." she told him before downing the last of her drink.

"You are no liar," he said before calling a small flame spell to his hand in front of him, "But maybe J'zargo could light his boots on fire anyway." his attempt to cheer her up worked that time.

A smile came to her face as she stifled a laugh.

"You certainly can not light his hair on fire." she giggled.

A sigh escaped her lips, "Uradith, va tazaka." (Ta'agra: [I] Apologize, [I] am annoyed) she admitted.

J'zargo placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Thank you." her words were almost too quiet to hear, but she knew he did because of the nod he gave her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am still in the process of learning French so I used Google translate on the French I subbed in for Orlesian.  
> Also, I know that shout is a mouthful, but I really felt like Leliana would be very secretive when it comes to four unknown creatures that speak a foreign language.  
> I sort of headcanon that some khajiit joke about others being 'Furless' when they see bald humans or elves sometimes, so I had to add that in too.  
> [Ta'agra Project](https://www.taagra.com/dictionary.php)  
> [Dragon tongue](https://www.thuum.org/)


	4. Plans to Spar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Inquisition would like to know what kind of magic was used on them. N'feri has given new armor to her companions, and Bull visits N'feri in hopes of finding out more about the magic she used on everyone, only to be greeted by four khajiit in various states of undress.

After the khajiit left the war room, Cassandra immediately turned her attention to Solas.

"What kind of magic was it that she used on us?" the emotions on her face were not well concealed because he could see the panic and nervousness easily.

"I didn't even feel her using the magic until it hit me, it felt something like a restoration spell but more pleasant." Cullen's voice was quiet as he spoke.

"I must admit that I felt the power she possessed, but what it is I do not know," Solas told the group.

Dorian scoffed, "Perhaps you should ask your fade spirit friends."

"You don't know what it was either then?" Cassandra turned her attention to him.

"It wasn't blood magic, I know that much, but nothing more." Dorian's answer did little to comfort anyone.

"Even I am at a loss, I have never known of any magic to affect someone as whatever that was, affected me," Vivienne admitted.

***

Morning came far sooner than N'feri had hoped it would.

There her and her three companions sat in the war room once again, but this time the large crowd had morphed into just a few people.

"We need to know what you four can do to benefit the Inquisition now since you have already joined us," Cullen told the small group.

"We are each capable of a great many things, and we have experience in various fields," N'feri told the man as she relaxed her shoulders, flattening her expression into something unreadable.

"What would those fields be?" Josephine started to write on the paper she had already prepared.

N'feri nodded to J'zargo, and he returned it with a mischievous smirk before calling a ball of fire to his palm.

"J'zargo is a master of destruction, an adept of illusion, alteration and restoration magics, and has had much practice in the use of heavy armor and one-handed weapons," he announced proudly.

"Wait, you're a mage and trained in combat?" Cullen's face was one of pure confusion.

"Of course, and as a species, we are also naturally adept at sneaking and usually better at lockpicking than most other races," Inigo added.

"So, you are a rogue, a mage, and a warrior?" Leliana finally asked, to which J'zargo nodded.

"This one prefers to be called a mage if you must, it is what J'zargo is best at."

After he finished speaking N'feri nodded for Kharjo to speak.

"This one is trained in heavy armor, one-handed weapons, archery and shield use."

Kharjo's sentence made Cassandra hold up a hand, to stop anyone else from speaking.

"You too are not only a warrior but a rogue as well?" 

He shook his head, "Warrior skills are the most used, but you may call this one what you wish."

"Inigo is best in light armor although he wears dwarven heavy armor most of the time, so I suppose he too could be called a rogue and a warrior also," N'feri said as she laced her fingers together.

"Yes, and I am also skilled in both melee combat and archery."

His comment received a hum in reply from N'feri.

"What about your skills, Miss- I'm sorry I never caught your last name." Josephine realized.

"I never gave one," she said flatly, "I have had much practice in archery, one-handed weapons, lockpicking, sneaking, smithing, enchanting and alchemy just to name a few of my skills."

"The Greybeards gave her the name Ysmir then called her Dovahsebrom," Inigo told them as soon as N'feri was done talking.

Though reluctant, N'feri nodded, "Yes, it means Dragon of the North if I remember correctly, so I suppose one of those could be a surname if you need such formalities."

"Didn't the big scaly one call you Stormcrown once?" Kharjo asked her quietly, to which she just nodded.

"I'm more interested in the smithing and enchanting aspects," Josephine told the khajiit before she could reply to Kharjo.

N'feri hummed a reply, "My father was an Alfiq spy in his younger days, long before meeting my mother and he observed the craft during those days," she explained to the group, "He then took up the practice after returning home."

"Your father was a spy?" Leliana was the first to speak.

"Hold on, we're talking about her enchanting ability right now, does that mean khajiit are immune to lyrium but can still use magic?"

A confused look passed over N'feri's face when Cullen asked that, but she quickly covered the emotion with a blank unreadable one.

"I am unsure what you mean by this word, lyrium." she shifted in her seat.

"As for the magic part, most khajiit are very adept in the arcane arts in one way or another."

Her explanation intrigued all three of the advisors and seemed to have put Cullen on edge, given how his hand found its way to the hilt of his sword anyway.

"Perhaps we should allow you to demonstrate your skill with weapons for us later." Josephine's voice ended the uneasy silence in the room.

"Just as well because I was about to ask where we could practice a bit after we were done here." N'feri nodded in agreement.

"Yes, this one enjoys a bit of rest as much as the next, but going too long without a decent fight can make one's skills rusty." Kharjo hummed.

J'zargo stood from his seat, "This one believes we are done here, yes?"

"For now." Leliana nodded.

"Good, and perhaps after we prove to you our skills you will call off the tails you have placed behind us." N'feri stretched her arms above her.

"How did you-" Leliana got cut off by J'zargo raising his hand.

"Your spies are not very good at being inconspicuous, perhaps they need trained by khajiit," he joked.

N'feri chuckled, "We have not evaded them yet out of respect, but your agents are not the best." she smiled.

"I do hope you do not treat all of your guests with such suspicion though," Inigo too raised from his seat and headed toward the door.

"J'zargo believes it would be ungentlemanly to trick our hosts, but it would be so easy."

The four started to walk out of the war room together without another word.

"Midday, we'll clear the training yard to see what you can do," Cullen called after the four just before Kharjo pulled the door shut with a respectful nod.

***

"Where did you even procure that fancy sewing kit from?" Kharjo asked as he glanced over at N'feri as she started to adorn the mask she was working on with embroidery.

"I would more like to know where you found the time to start making all three of us armor." Inigo's voice was muffled by the piece of leather N'feri had put in his mouth.

"Don't worry about it, just don't mix up those pieces." She waved to the bits of unfinished armor he held in each hand as she grabbed the leather out of his mouth and laid it to the side.

She attached the cloth mask to the hood and held it up to the light.

"Perfect," she purred.

"Yes, yes, now can you please remove the pins from this sheet so I can breathe without being turned into a pin cushion?" Inigo asked.

"Ibo ma'khajiit." (Ta'agra: Cry Baby) she jokingly laughed.

Inigo attempted to cross his arms to give her a dirty look but immediately got poked in the shoulder by a pin before she could start removing them.

"This one believes that you have done an exceptional job on these," Kharjo told her as he adjusted his own mask on his face, admiring himself in N'feri's mirror.

"How long have you been working on these anyway?" J'zargo asked as he examined the robes she had handed him just moments earlier.

"Not long in truth, but I just finished adding the decorations to those masks last night."

The hoods and masks resembled her own Nightingale armor but had variation in the colors and decoration.

A set of deep grey robes went along with the hood and gloves she had given to J'zargo, though they were robes she had reinforced them with various enchantments to protect him long before she started to add the decorations.

Kharjo's hood and mask went along with a set of dark leather armor she crafted the night before, though no one had to know that she had been up using Skyhold's forge before dawn had broke.

She was quite proud of the new versions of armor she had crafted for Inigo and Kharjo.

Those pieces looked like nothing she had ever seen another smith create.

"Just to finish these decorations then Inigo's gloves, then I shall be done," she smirked.

"You have made us new armor but not yet new boots, should this one be worried?" Kharjo asked as he strapped on his chest piece.

A knock came from the door just as he asked, "Yes, be very worried." Inigo told him as N'feri yelled for whoever was knocking to come in.

To be fair, N'feri probably didn't think much about what that person would see when they walked in.

Kharjo was still strapping on his chest piece with just his hood on, a pair of daedric boots and small bottoms, while Inigo only had a sheet wrapped around his waist.

In the corner, J'zargo stood with the top portion of his robes hanging off his shoulder while N'feri was just sitting in nothing more than a pair of breeches and her small clothes with a lap full of various pieces of leather and cloth.

"Oh, is this a bad time?" Bull asked when he glanced around to see the room's occupants.

She hummed as she looked up at him then glanced over to where he was looking to see her companions in various states of undress.

"No, of course not." she ignored her own state of undress as well.

"We were all raised communally, more or less, so we are not as prudish as most races."

"Ah, good to know, but I thought you might like to know that someone saw you in the forge last night."

"I am aware I was being watched, but I did not know by who," she said without even looking up from the needlework she was engrossed in, "You have not told anyone I am assuming."

"It isn't my business what you do at night." 

This time she did look up from her work, "What is it that you want Bull?" she glanced back down to the piece in her hands and continued her embroidery.

"All I want to know is what kind of magic you used on the Inquisitor's advisors is all." he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall.

"It was not magic, but the way of the voice, an ancient art lost to most."

Her answer was simple, short and the tone she said it in was all Bull needed to know that he wasn't getting anything else out of her on the subject, so he nodded and left the room without another word.

"Finished with that, now for the gloves and we should be all done by midday," she said as she examined her stitchwork.

"Let us get used to our armor before we go out to fight a dragon, is that it?" Inigo chuckled.

"Of course, why else would I give you new armor before we spar?" N'feri joked.

"Now get some pants on!" J'zargo attempted to tell Kharjo as he started to take off his robes only to get stuck in the armhole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just feel like N'feri isn't one to sleep when in strange places, so she kept herself busy the night before.  
> Also as soon as I can I will probably do some art to maybe give you all an idea to the armor and robes N'feri made for her brothers-in-arms. (No guarantees)  
> It appears I may just have accidentally added a new plan to this and it's a ship, but we will see.  
> [Ta'agra Project](https://www.taagra.com/dictionary.php)


	5. Something to watch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N'feri accidentally offends Cassandra. Ears are nearly sliced off and there's a lot of fire.

Midday had arrived not long after N'feri had finished the armor for her companions.

The very armor that they were all three outfitted in when they approached the training grounds.

Those who usually occupied the grounds were not there, but it seemed the entirety of the Inquisition's inner circle were present in their place.

The Inquisitor herself was standing among her many companions and advisors.

Upon seeing the four approach, Leliana turned her full attention to them.

"You have new armor?" was the greeting she gave them.

"Yes, a gift from N'feri," Inigo smiled, although no one could tell behind his mask, a hum was all he received in reply.

"Enough talk, you wished for us to show you some of our skills so here we are." N'feri sounded indifferent to the whole situation but ready to show off her skill anyway.

"Yes, you and I will be sparring first," Cassandra told the woman.

N'feri started to laugh, thinking the woman was joking.

Only to find a serious expression still on the seekers' face when she stopped laughing.

"Oh, you were not joking?" she asked as she wiped a tear from her eye while she attempted to suppress any more laughter.

"No mean to offend, but you would not last five seconds sparring with me, friend," she explained.

Kharjo quickly stepped forward when he saw Cassandra clench her jaw for fear of a serious fight happening between the two.

"What she means to say is that humans are just naturally slower than khajiit," he held his hands up in front of himself defensively, 

"With that taken into consideration, perhaps we should spar among ourselves for the time being if you wish to see our full potential."

"Yes, that is exactly what she meant!" Inigo wrapped an arm around N'feri's shoulder and pulled her away from the warrior a few feet.

Cullen put a hand on Cassandra's shoulder, "They are right, no sense in taking a chance for someone to get seriously injured." his words gained a scowl from the warrior before she grunted an agreement.

"We gathered some practice weapons for you to use and-" Cullen got cut off by N'feri.

"We have our own, thank you," she told the man as she walked past him, followed closely by her three companions.

"Uh, J'zargo will watch, this round," the mage insisted before he walked toward the sidelines to stand beside the Inquisitor and Bull.

"Bahin qara." (Ta'agra: Chicken cat) N'feri laughed as he walked away.

He just scoffed at first but then started to laugh as well.

"Tazi an peshar qara." (Ta'agra: Annoying and aggressive cat) he corrected as if she was talking about herself.

"The four of you speaking in that foreign language tends to make quite a few of the Inquisition members very nervous I hope you know," Dorian said as he walked up beside the khajiit mage.

"J'zargo figured as much, but it is not foreign to us, it is actually the language of Elsweyr."

"Elsewhere?"

"No, no, it is pronounced Elsweyr," J'zargo corrected, pronouncing it slowly.

Instead of being offended by the mage correcting him, he just hummed.

"It sounds very exotic," he admitted after a moment.

"It is a truly gorgeous place, though the sand can get stuck in some very uncomfortable places."

***

"I think we should team up on her, give us a fair chance," Inigo whispered to Kharjo.

Kharjo nodded, "N'feri, how about two against one?" he asked the woman who was presently chatting with the ambassador.

"Just daggers?" her ears perked up under her hood.

"Unless you want to try your hand at swords again."

"No!" J'zargo, Inigo, and N'feri all three exclaimed.

Clearly, they all had remembered the last time N'feri used a sword when she almost accomplished quite a feat.

That feat being that she almost cut her own tail off.

Since then it had been an unspoken rule to never let N'feri use any sharp weapon that was longer than the average dagger for fear of lost appendages.

"Then daggers it shall be," Kharjo announced.

***

"Dan jaadi egasatilali vakota?" (Ta'agra: Give them something <[to] watch?) N'feri asked just before Inigo and Kharjo readied their weapons.

Inigo slid his hood off and lowered his mask before he nodded.

"Ajo zrini, jat." (Ta'agra: Wonderful idea, yes) Kharjo slid his mask down and grinned at her.

She nodded and also exposed her face.

With that, the three of them were slashing their daggers through the air, not connecting with anything except for metal no matter how hard they were actually trying.

N'feri rolled to the side out of sight of their spectators when Inigo threw one of his daggers at her, where she then cast a muffle spell on herself before rejoining the fray.

The words that came from her mouth afterward were not heard.

Again, Solas felt the power although he could not see it, he knew it was there, and it unnerved him.

"Su grah dun!" (Dragon tongue: Air battle grace - Elemental Fury shout) though they were silent, the ground still rumbled with the power of them.

All three of their weapons sailed through the air faster and kept coming closer to hitting each other than before.

Once Cullen saw how dangerous the three were getting, he started to step in to stop them but J'zargo held an arm out in front of him to stop him.

"You don't want to do that, friend," J'zargo warned.

"They're going to kill each other!" Josephine's skin was three shades lighter than it usually was and she was starting to look like she was going to pass out.

Cullen turned his attention back to the fight just as Kharjo ducked under a blade that nearly cut off the tip of his ear.

A startled gasp escaped Josephine when Inigo narrowly avoided getting his nose sliced by a dagger.

"I can't watch," she wheezed before covering her eyes.

Even Cassandra was holding her breath as she watched the three narrowly avoiding quick moving blade slashes.

You could hear the blades slicing through the air but not their footsteps, not even their breathing.

"This is absolutely extraordinary," Dorian whispered.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone who could move this fast," Varric replied.

Bull leaned closer to the two, "My money is on the tiny one."

"Nope, I'm not even betting on this one," Varric admitted.

***

No one had expected the three to spar for so long with so many close calls but still without a single stumble or misplaced footing.

If there would have been one though someone would've most likely started bleeding.

Bull had automatically noticed how the khajiit used their tails to keep their balance while maneuvering the battlefield, and he was intrigued.

Suddenly the sound of metal daggers clashing together rang out and the next thing anyone knew, their sparring came to an end.

N'feri had one of her daggers to Kharjo's neck and one to Inigo's while each of them had a dagger to hers.

She hissed something under her breath then Inigo started to laugh.

"I suppose this means none of us won," he panted.

"Reji hikaka!" (Ta'agra: Tie called) J'zargo's voice called out.

Daggers were all lowered from throats.

"Now would you like a turn, Cassandra?" N'feri purred as she turned her attention to the crowd.

Cassandra started sputtering when N'feri singled her out.

"J'zargo will spar with you, roliter." (Ta'agra: sister) J'zargo told her just as a few of the Inquisition members were about to start talking.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Dorian grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Sparring with N'feri of course."

"But you're a mage, you can't possibly hold your own against her," Dorian sputtered.

J'zargo just narrowed his eyes at the mustached man before turning his attention to N'feri.

"Alsaka ahzirr rak?" (Ta'agra: Ready to fight?) his voice was a low growl which caught N'feri a bit off guard.

"Rishaj yo dov?" (Ta'agra: Magic or no?)

"Alsaka ahzirr dan jaadi egasatilali vakota." (Ta'agra: Let us give them something <[to] watch) was his reply.

He pulled his hood back before he approached and they both dropped into fighting positions once she nodded to him.

N'feri's right fist touched her left shoulder then her right before she brought it toward her face and dropped her forehead it to touch her fist.

This was repeated by J'zargo as well.

A sort of tradition showing respect between the mages native to Elsweyr, though the motions sometimes varied between the breeds.

"What was that?" Josephine asked Inigo, who was still panting a bit.

"A tradition of sorts between them," he explained quickly before turning his attention back to the two khajiit who were already swiping at each other with their daggers.

"Why do they only have one dagger each?" Cassandra finally asked.

"You will see, rakiit oriit." (Ta'agra: Warrior woman) Kharjo smirked when he glanced down at her confused expression.

Not even a moment after Kharjo said that did J'zargo hurl an oversized firebolt at N'feri.

She didn't dodge the attack and that had everyone's heart in their throats except Inigo and Kharjo who already knew why she didn't dodge.

The flames cleared and a collective noise of relief was heard.

She dropped the ward she used and raised from her crouching position.

"That's how you want to play?" she growled.

J'zargo just shrugged, they were putting on a show after all.

"Fine, let us play!".

No sooner than the words left her mouth did she fling down her dagger, embedding it into the ground while she called lighting and fire to her palms.

Cullen muttered something in disbelief under his breath when he saw the elements she held in her hands simultaneously.

"That is incredible," Dorian and Solas both said at the same time.

J'zargo flicked his dagger to the side as well before he too called destruction spells to his hands.

For the first short while the two were nonstop firing spells just as the other dodged, but then a quickly placed rune and a moment of distraction turned the tables.

The smoke surrounding them was making it extremely hard to see so N'feri attempted to take advantage of that.

N'feri had cast a rune on the ground.

Unfortunately, J'zargo saw the magic as she started to use it, so he ran at her, readying a firebolt.

His foot hit the rune just as the firebolt hit her.

Both of them were tossed back several feet as a result of the spell and the rune.

the smoke seemed to have dispersed when the rune was activated so the crowd could once again see the two clearly.

J'zargo was sprawled out on his stomach panting rapidly when he looked up to find N'feri too had been knocked back quite a ways.

N'feri was on her rear end, propping herself up on one of her elbows.

"It appears I am all burnt out," she laughed as she attempted to call a spell to her hand.

"J'zargo thinks this was a close match."

"I do as well," she huffed before hopping up to her feet.

He took a bit longer to get to his feet because of the position he was in upon impact with the ground.

When he did get up though, he shook N'feri's hand just as any good sport would.

That was when a hundred and three questions were finally fired at the four khajiit.

Questions about their magic came from Dorian and Cullen surprisingly enough, while Bull asked about training and technique.

Leliana was even a bit intrigued by their fighting ability, asking about their obvious prowess with blades once.

The four hid their features again before walking away without answering any of their questions.

"Drinks first, then answers," N'feri told the group of curious men and women.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll notice the translation bits in this chapter have [ ] those things and an arrow < pointing to another word, that's because said word inside [ ] these things is used as a suffix instead of a separate word in Ta'agra and the arrow links it to the word it appears connected to.  
>  **Example:** "Something <[to] watch" is "Egasatil <[ali] vakota" where "Egasatilali" ends up being one word in Ta'agra instead of two like in english. You can learn more about that below.  
>  **V V V**  
> [Ta'agra Project](https://www.taagra.com/dictionary.php)  
> [Dragon tongue](https://www.thuum.org/)  
> [Vanilla's Tumblr](https://thevanillahorizon.tumblr.com)


	6. Tavern Brawl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inigo gets called out on oogling the ambassador. N'feri and Cole have a short conversation. A tavern brawl gets started (You should never pull a khajiit's tail)  
>  **Warning:** Incoming cliffhanger!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be warned that there is a veiled reference to abuse in this chapter, but you may have to squint to see it. Either way, take that and be warned.

The explanations took much longer that evening than anyone expected, but for the most part, the Inquisition members' curiosity was sated for the time being.

Now that a large part of the suspicion was mostly gone, N'feri was free to venture about Skyhold as she so wished and so could her companions.

Granted Leliana still had people following each of them for the time being.

N'feri just visited the Smith and met one of the Inquisitor's companions that she had not yet met, Blackwall he had called himself.

They had a decent conversation about weapon tactics before he got called away by a scout.

"J'zargo will be in the library should you need him," Inigo told N'feri when he caught up with her.

"Yes, I noticed the man that was tasked with following him head that direction."

"It appears Kira is leaving tonight on some type of Inquisition related matter with a few of her companions." His tail twitched when the man following him stepped in a puddle, prompting him to glance back at the startled human.

"Stop, you're scaring the poor guy." N'feri laughed, drawing Inigo's gaze away from the human's eyes.

Inigo laughed, "But it is so fun!" his voice obviously raised loud enough for the man behind them to hear it.

"Anyway, yes I know, I was with one of her companions when a scout came to collect him." N'feri's eyes found Bull entering the tavern.

"Is that why you smell like the raggedy old man that walked by me on the way?" Inigo joked.

"Exactly, now if you don't mind, I have a spy to watch."

"The big horned one?" he guessed.

"The Iron Bull, yes."

Inigo nodded, "Just be careful, wouldn't want your first lost brawl to be your last."

"You worry too much, why don't you go speak to that beautiful ambassador you were practically drooling over earlier," she suggested.

Inigo's eyes went wide when he processed what she said as she started to walk away.

His mouth moved, but no words would come out as he attempted to reply before she disappeared into the tavern.

***

N'feri took a seat at the far end of the bar, away from Cabot and away from other patrons.

From her spot at the bar, she had a clear line of sight to most of the occupants without turning her head or gaining suspicion from anyone about her watching them.

She could see Varric talking to Bull while he moved his hands vividly, occasionally gaining a few laughs from Bull's company.

The story he told she could hear from her seat without leaning toward the conversation.

"Well, anyway, I should get going." Varric's voice carried over.

"Oh, yea, Boss wants you to go with her, right?" Bull asked the dwarf before he tipped back his drink.

Varric just nodded as he grabbed his crossbow from where it was propped up against the table.

"See you in a few days if a dragon doesn't eat me," the dwarf joked before leaving.

***

N'feri sat at the same place for several hours, watching patrons come and go.

All the while, she used her remarkable hearing to gain insight into Bull and his Chargers.

"You don't want them to know you're watching them, listening to them, but they have their suspicions someone is watching." 

N'feri had sensed the boy's presence before he even made himself known to her.

She nodded a silent reply to Cole.

"How did you know I was here?" he appeared in front of her on the opposite side of the bar.

"I have met many spirits in my lifetime, though none that took a physical form such as yours," she told the spirit.

Cole just stared at her for a short while before promptly disappearing.

After checking her surroundings, her eyes met with the man across the room who had been tasked with following her.

She felt a bit sorry for him, after all, he had been sitting there for several hours without moving from his post.

"Dear, if you please, get that bald man in the corner a bowl of soup and tankard of ale." N'feri handed over a handful of coin she had taken from some unsuspecting patron earlier in the day.

Cabot just nodded to the young khajiit, "Also, have you heard any rumors?" she questioned.

"Just a few tall tales about the Inquisitor bringing back four new companions with furry tails, but seeing the one your sporting I don't guess that's as much of a rumor as I thought."

N'feri smiled under her mask, "Any work around here to be done?" she asked him as she ran her fingers along the wood grain of the bar.

"You should be asking the Inquisition advisors about that, not me."

"I fear they have yet to trust me that much." she hummed before raising her mask and taking a drink.

"Well, there are these three soldiers that have been coming in and harassing any woman in the place that just walked in-" his voice trailed off as he gave the men death glares.

N'feri had seen the men the day before, bothering the little elven alchemist.

"You wish for me to rough them up?" she had a mischievous glint in her eye.

"If you see them harassing anyone just put them in their place and you'll get a few drinks on the house."

"I'll be back before you can say whiskers," she assured the man before she stood then abruptly disappeared into the shadows, leaving the man scratching his head.

***

J'zargo and N'feri approached the tavern minutes later.

"So you wish this one to hide his tail and let you flirt just so you can punch someone and get free drinks?"

"Exactly what I want you to do, and I know you won't be weirded out by it because of your preferences." she nodded.

"Fine, but you owe J'zargo." he crossed his arms defiantly.

N'feri hummed an agreement, "I suppose this could actually be payback for when your teleportation scroll teleported me right into the Riften canal." she jokingly elbowed him.

"J'zargo didn't- you're right, J'zargo supposes he does owe you for that considering you smelled like dead fish for three weeks."

"Oh, that wasn't dead fish smell, that was dead human smell," she laughed.

J'zargo visibly cringed at that unwanted announcement and made an absolutely revolting gagging sound.

***

"Exotic is always better, you know that much." N'feri purred loudly to J'zargo just as one of the men approached her at the bar.

"Hey, you." the man put on an obviously fake voice meant to impress N'feri.

She turned to face the man who was flanked by the other two men, "What can I do for you, Gentlemen?" she asked the three, silently prompting J'zargo to leave before she put them in their place.

"You know, ever since you arrived, I've been wondering what you look like under the hood and mask," he put on a sultry smile that would've had most women swooning.

Luckily, N'feri wasn't most women.

"I'd rather know more about that tail," one of the other two whispered to the second.

"You know, I'd love to show you, but mystery is part of my charm." the words were nothing more than a sensual purr put on for show.

"Ay, come on now, just a little peak." the man grabbed her arm as she attempted to turn back to the bar, one of the others gripping her tail loosely, causing her to lowly growl.

Though they couldn't tell, her ears were folded back in irritation.

Her teeth were also showing behind her mask as her lips pulled back into a snarl.

"I'd advise you this once, release your hold on me," she warned the two men, though they ignored her.

A shadow soon fell over N'feri and the three men.

"Is there a problem here?" she didn't have to look to the source of the voice to know it was the Qunari mercenary.

Before either of the men holding her could speak, she spoke for them.

"Nothing that is not easily handled on my own, now please return to your friends, while I have a discussion with these three." N'feri's words were said in a warning tone.

She could tell that he nodded without looking.

He turned slowly and took slow steps away from the four, careful to listen to what they said.

"Now, you will release me," she warned, but they just laughed.

"Or what?"

"Or I will be forced to defend my honor." 

"Listen, I ain't going anywhere until I get what I want," the man holding her tail told her.

"Neither am I." the one holding her arm tightened his grip.

N'feri surprisingly chuckled, causing all three of the men to exchange confused looks.

Bull turned his attention back to the woman just in time to hear her tell the men that she warned them.

The man who had been pulling her tail had flown across the room, landing on a table and effectively breaking the table in half as he fell through it.

Those two remaining men looked at the woman who had a ball of magic in her hand, magic like Bull had never seen before.

"Holy shit." was all Bull could say before the man holding her arm was punched so hard he fell back, sprawling on the floor holding his nose.

Bull attempted to get to her before the third man could do anything stupid, but before he got close enough to restrain the idiot, he had already thrown a punch.

A punch that N'feri caught before Bull even knew what was happening.

Once she had his fist in her hand, she twisted his arm.

The way she twisted his arm had ended up with his back facing her with her free hand holding the back of his neck.

With her foot, she kicked the back of the man's knee out, bringing him to the floor before leaning close to him and whispering something in his ear that Bull couldn't make out.

She basically tossed the man across the floor before turning her attention back to the counter where Cabot was standing.

"He'll pay for the table," she said as she pointed over her shoulder at the man she just threw to the floor.

"Are you okay?" Bull didn't know why he asked, but he did.

"Of course I am okay, Cabot just wished for me to put those fools in their place if they started anything."

"And they started something," he guessed.

She mimicked his words exactly before turning toward the door and promptly leaving.

"That was crazy," Krem said from behind him.

"You got that right, Krem." a groan had him turning his attention to one of the men in the floor, the one with a broken jaw and bloody nose.

"I certainly don't want to get on her bad side," Krem joked, before walking away laughing.

***

No one could find N'feri for hours after that.

N'feri's absence had Cullen and Leliana on edge.

Unfortunately, that meant the man tasked with following her was being scolded.

"Of all the stupid things!" Leliana shouted at the young man.

"I didn't even know she had left the tavern, I swear!"

Leliana being visibly upset wasn't something many people witnessed.

"You lost your mark because you were eating on the job, then while you were hunting for her, she caused a fight in the exact place that you lost her!" Leliana's lips were drawn into a thin line as Cullen too reprimanded the soldier.

Bull started to laugh, "Actually, she didn't start the fight, the three men that she roughed up were the ones who started it." 

"What do you mean?" Leliana's face showed an unreadable expression as she turned her attention to the Qunari.

"I mean they did pull her tail then grabbed her arm with a good amount of force," he explained.

Cullen started to talk but Bull cut off whatever he was about to say.

"But before she put them in their place, she did warn them multiple times, so I don't think she should be punished for knocking them around a bit, even Cabot didn't mind the trouble makers getting their asses handed to them."

"You, you're back on patrols," Cullen told the soldier who he then dismissed for the remainder of the night.

After the man left the room, Cullen turned his attention to Bull.

"I think we have a job for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? No translation links?? That's because this chapter had nothing that required translating. Strange, I know.  
> From here on out I'm pretty sure most of the next chapters will center around more than just N'feri.  
>  ~~Look both ways for incoming ships!~~  
> [Vanilla's Tumblr](https://thevanillahorizon.tumblr.com)


	7. Secrets and Library Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N'feri sneaks, eavesdrops and then finds a wolf in her room. J'zargo and Dorian talk magic and tall tales.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This happens to be a short chapter (Only like 1300 words) but still, second chapter in like three days, because I had a spare hour or two to myself today after all the lawn work was done.

No one knew N'feri was just outside of the door as they spoke about her.

Crouching in the shadows, she remained unseen when the soldier walked out of the room and right by her.

She had heard the plan that Cullen and Leliana proposed to Bull.

The Iron Bull was to be a glorified babysitter for her.

All things considered, they did choose relatively well.

If she were to accompany the Inquisitor anywhere outside of Skyhold then so would Bull.

Similar ideas were tossed around for her four companions before they finally agreed and decided on who would shadow who.

J'zargo would be shadowed by Dorian, Kharjo by Cassandra and Inigo by Varric.

Decent enough choices, she supposed.

"Now, if you don't mind, my bed is calling me." Bull's voice slightly echoed through the empty hall, even before he opened the door.

N'feri quickly took a deep breath, reaching into her very soul to acquire Nocturnal's Shadowcloak.

As Bull opened the door, she disappeared in a blur.

Clinging to the outer wall, she silently praised Nocturnal for the clouds that hid her presence there by blocking out the moonlight.

Bull stopped for a moment as he walked through the corridor, looking over his shoulder and checking his surroundings but finding nothing.

Her claws seemingly embedded into the stones as she hung there motionless, an unknown height above the ground.

The Qunari's footsteps echoed as he finally started back down the hall, prompting a sigh of relief as N'feri let out the breath she had been holding.

A few moments passed before she finally flung herself back through the opening in the wall, grateful that she landed without so much as a sound.

She went completely unnoticed in the darkness around her and like an assassin in the shadows and a thief in the night, she sped back to her room with the newly found knowledge.

The first chance she had come morning, she would tell her brethren of the conversation that took place between the spymaster, the commander and the horned giant that night.

***

Upon entering her room N'feri noticed a presence.

"Ah, so you have sought me out, Grohiik?" (Dragon tongue: Wolf) she asked as she shut the door slowly.

"It appears you have already answered my question before I had the chance to ask it," Solas nodded, though she wasn't looking at him for her to see it.

She sat down at the end of her bed to take her boots off without speaking.

"My next question, however, is something I hope you can answer." his voice was flat and emotionless as he spoke.

"An answer for an answer, perhaps?" N'feri bargained.

Her words caught him off guard, no one ever caught him by surprise.

With his shocked silence, she continued, "I want to know what you are, Dok" (Dragon tongue: Hound) she said the last word with a bit of the thu'um poured into it.

His eyes went wide when she called upon the strange power.

"My question is the same for you, Falon" (DA. Elvish: Friend)

"Zu'u los fin Dovahkiin, nu bo nau." (Dragon tongue: I am the Dragonborn, now go on.) her eyes seemed to have stared into his very soul during those few moments.

He noticed either steam or smoke one coming out of her nostrils.

"You're a dragon." it wasn't actually a question, but she smiled wickedly anyway and started to circle him.

He noticed the predatory look in her eyes as soon as she started circling him.

At that moment he felt more like the dread rabbit than the dread wolf.

"Now what are you?" her tone made it clear that he was no longer the predator, she was, and he was pretty sure that he was the prey.

He swallowed down the knot in his throat that formed once he figured out she was more dangerous than he could've ever imagined.

"I am the dread wolf."

***

Earlier in the day, J'zargo and Inigo had found themselves bored, so they decided to venture about Skyhold.

Their venturing eventually led them to the library where J'zargo decided to stay for a bit while Inigo looked for N'feri.

A few hours passed as J'zargo absorbed the knowledge from the pages of the books before he finally realized he was no longer alone among the tomes.

Dorian himself was halfway through a particularly large book when J'zargo silently approached him.

After Dorian's initial scare wore off from J'zargo's 'poofing in out of nowhere' as Dorian said, they found themselves conversing and reading in each other's mutual company.

***

"What do you mean you don't know magelight?" J'zargo was sitting beside a small pile of books, engrossed in a conversation with Dorian about magic.

"Exactly what you meant when you said you didn't know people could shapeshift." Dorian was staring directly into J'zargo's eyes.

"No, no, this one said 'J'zargo has only ever heard of such things in tall tales' he said nothing about not knowing it was possible, many things are possible but we just have not yet learned how." he turned his attention back to the tome he had in hand.

Dorian almost dropped the book he was flipping through once his thoughts caught up with him.

"Woah, wait, what do you mean by in tall tales?" Dorian shut the book a little louder than he had meant to, startling J'zargo a bit.

"Ahziss walase vuro." (Ta'agra: [I] [will]>attempt explaining) J'zargo shut the book he was looking over with a sigh.

J'zargo then attempted to tell Dorian what he knew of the Ka Po' Tun of Akavir, though he knew little on the subject.

"So, let me get this straight," Dorian scooted forward in his seat, "They're supposed to be similar to khajiit, like you, except with stripes instead of spots?"

The khajiit mage just replied with a silent nod.

"Does that mean N'feri is a cat-dragon?" Dorian's question was genuine which made it all the more confusing for him when J'zargo started laughing so hard that he fell out of his seat.

After he got his laughter under control he wiped the tears from his eyes, "Ike deje jer korka." (Ta'agra: If only you knew)

"Not quite, the Akaviri people, Ka Po' Tun included, have not quite made themselves known to other continents, though perhaps long ago they may have, but who knows, this one is sure that N'feri has a book that could be more knowledgable, she enjoys such history and mystery."

"Who enjoys history and mystery?" N'feri had made her way up the stairs without a sound and nearly scared the two mages out of their skin.

"Kaffas, don't sneak around like that!" (Tevene: Shit) Dorian panted as he clutched his chest.

J'zargo laughed at the man's outburst, "We were talking about you, roliter." (Ta'agra: sister)

N'feri just chuckled as she pulled her face mask down, "As much fun as it appears you two are having, I must borrow J'zargo for a moment, then you may have him right back." her words were directed to Dorian.

"Ah, what do you wish of this one?" J'zargo stood as he spoke.

"I just need you to come to the tavern with me and look pretty so I can start a fight and get a few free drinks." N'feri offered him a mischievous smile.

"J'zargo can't do pretty, but dashing perhaps?"

"Dashing will work, I will give you details on the way," N'feri told her companion as they walked away.

Dorian just sat there with a confused look on his face as the two khajiit made their way down the steps.

After their voices couldn't be heard in the distance anymore, Dorian shook himself out of the trance he was in and opened the book he was reading earlier.

The fact that he couldn't focus on the words on the page at the time was irrelevant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, that's a lot of language! I'm serious, this chapter (Even though it was short) had a lot of translation going on.  
> [Dragon tongue](https://www.thuum.org/)  
> [DA. Elvish](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Elven_language)  
> [Ta'agra](https://www.taagra.com/dictionary.php)  
> [Tevene](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Tevene)  
> [Vanilla's Tumblr](https://thevanillahorizon.tumblr.com)


	8. Worry, Reading and Sparring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Solas is reminiscing. Cullen is worrying about the Inquisitor. J'zargo asks about Templars. Dorian's reading time gets interrupted by Inigo, then J'zargo who proceeds to jump out of the window. Cassandra's dummy slashing gets interrupted as well, but this leads to Kharjo sparring with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A third chapter in a week? I'm on a roll, my dudes. Enjoy.

Solas remembers their first meeting there in the fade when he was young.

Many ages after the orb that pulsed with strange, unknown magic fell into his hands and a short few since the veil.

He wasn't the same, nor was the world, but he still recognized her by the magic surrounding her.

The four strange cat-people appearing in the fade as he searched for the severed fraction of the artifact he so long ago found.

His guess was that the orb belonged atop a staff.

In the time after meeting the strangers, the orb had swelled in size and in power.

The orb of Magnus he dubbed it.

Though he only called it that after witnessing the conversation the four khajiit had once they found the very piece he was hunting for beforehand.

Where that piece was presently, he had no idea.

She didn't have it with her when the Inquisitor found the four khajiit.

Then again, time passes strangely in the fade.

Her being in Skyhold proved exactly that, so perhaps it wasted away to time.

How she had threatened him one moment there in her room and then calmly vowed that she wanted nothing to do with his secret within the next moment baffled him.

"Your secrets are useless to me, just know that I will be watching you and I have already warned the Inquisitor to be mindful of you but you know that much," she had told him.

"Whether she takes my warning seriously or not is her choice."

The words shouldn't have comforted him but they did, even if her very voice was dripping with power as she spoke them.

She was a threat that could end him, he was well aware of that, but he trusted that she wouldn't attack him unless he gave her a good reason to.

Perhaps an uneasy truce was best for the time being.

***

The Inquisitor was due back in two days, and Cullen was worried sick.

Of course, it was a professional worry, nothing more.

Though if Leliana saw him pacing the floor like he was, she would probably insinuate it was something more than a professional worry.

She hadn't sent word that she had arrived yet and that's what had him worried.

Pair that worry with the pounding in his head from the Lyrium withdrawal and it just wasn't a being good day for him.

A knock came from the door, "Yes, come in." his response was immediate, thinking it was Cassandra, coming to make sure he was okay.

"Commander, this one is sorry to disturb you, but he wished to know more of the order people call Templars."

Cullen looked up to find J'zargo at the door.

"I suppose I can tell you a bit about them, but why do you wish to know?"

"For the sake of knowledge of course, and given that the only resident mage with any experience with Templars happens to despise J'zargo, he figured you were the next best source," J'zargo explained.

This led to a long conversation on the subject and pure intrigue on Cullen's behalf.

"You don't use Lyrium to fuel your magic?"

"If this one is to be honest, he has no idea what Lyrium even is."

Cullen was a mixture of confused, intrigued and worried once J'zargo had told him that.

Another conversation began.

"Dwarves can't use magic but they mine the rocks that get turned into potions that restore magic for the select few people that are born with magical talent?" 

"I wouldn't put it so simply, but overall, yes." Cullen relaxed in his seat.

If someone had told him ten years ago that he would be having such a conversation with a human-shaped cat-like mage, he would've laughed in the face of whoever told him.

Somehow he was calm none the less, though perhaps it was because of J'zargo's almost silent purring filling the room.

"I have wasted enough of your time, but I do thank you for the conversation," J'zargo told the man before he stood to leave the room.

"The pleasure was all mine, J'zargo."

He would have to report to Leliana what he had just learned from the khajiit, but he wasn't worried about that.

However, it was a decent conversation that had thankfully taken his mind off of the Inquisitor for a bit.

***

N'feri had dropped by earlier and left Dorian two books from her home, though where she had them hidden before she let him borrow them, he wouldn't take a guess.

One of the books were bound in a tattered greenish brown leather, a report on the disaster at Ionith.

The second book was brown with an extremely ornate border on the front cover.

"Mysterious Akavir," Dorian read the title out loud before opening it.

He already had a piece of parchment on the table beside his chair simply because N'feri suggested he write down anything he wanted to learn more on so he could ask her about it after he read the books.

So far he was only a few pages in and was already engrossed in the literature.

The names of countless places that he had never heard of were hastily scribbled as were words that piqued his curiosity, 'Morag Tong' was one such word.

"Perhaps they are like the Crows," he mused quietly.

Silent footsteps made their way up the steps, "Perhaps who are like crows?" the voice had slightly startled Dorian.

He looked up to find Inigo standing there in his new armor but without the mask to cover his face.

"The Morag Tong, I was just wondering if they were like the crows." Dorian placed a slip of paper between the pages and closed the book gently.

"I believe they are more assassin than bird, but then again I have seen some pretty angry birds." Inigo started to trail off, "Either way, have you seen J'zargo recently?" he glanced around at the bookshelves curiously.

"Not since last night I'm afraid, is it something important?"

Inigo shook his head, "No, nothing of concern, just looking for him." the khajiit sighed just before J'zargo came quietly running up the steps.

"Ah, good, you're here!" J'zargo practically gasped a sigh of relief.

"Dorian, please tell me that window opens," he panted.

"Yes, it does, why?" A confused expression took place on Dorian's features.

"No time, losing my tail." with those words J'zargo ran over to the window and proceeded to jump out, nearly giving Dorian a heart attack.

J'zargo's head popped above the window seal a second after he jumped out of the window, somewhat calming Dorian's racing heart.

"J'zargo was never here!" he hissed.

Just then a soldier came marching up the steps, "Where did he go?" he huffed.

Inigo pointed out the window just as Dorian started to lie for the khajiit mage.

Upon closer inspection, Dorian found that the man's eyebrows were covered in small little snowflakes and chunks of ice were frozen in his hair.

"Good sir, what happened to you?" Dorian asked.

"That damn furry tailed mage blasted me with some type of ice spell." water was starting to drip from under the man's armor.

"Looks more to me like you walked into a frost rune, I should know because I have done the same quite a few times," Inigo said as he looked the man up and down.

The man stomped over to the window, muttered some rather colorful curse words then ran back down the steps.

"I suppose I should go make sure he doesn't get turned into a rug," Inigo laughed before turning around and walking away before Dorian could reply.

In the bottom corner of the parchment, Dorian wrote 'Frost runes' in small letters, because he needed to ask N'feri about that in context as well.

***

Slashing away at practice dummies, not the best way to keep her skills sharp but a decent way to work out a bit of stress without a sparring partner.

"Did those dummies insult your honor?"

Quickly Cassandra turned around and swung her sword toward the man who snuck up behind her and caught her off-guard without even looking to see who the man happened to be.

Luckily Kharjo had his shield on his arm, otherwise, he would've probably lost his arm.

"Nice swing, but if you needed a partner then all you needed to do was ask," he purred.

Even though he had his mask on she could almost bet that he was smirking.

Cassandra just readied a battle stance and then so did Kharjo.

"This one will go easy on you, Seeker." his words were smooth like silk, which prompted a blush to rise across Cassandra's cheeks.

No more words were spoken between the two as they traded blows for what seemed to have been several hours.

Cassandra didn't notice her opponent falter when she slammed her sword into his shield the second time, but she saw the way Kharjo's hand loosely gripped his sword.

Underestimating her, that's what he was doing, or so she thought.

One moment of distraction, that's all he needed to knock her legs out from under her with his foot.

She landed with a thud and he quickly took advantage of the moment.

Trapping her sword hand above her head and her shield arm under his knee, he used his weight against her by using his free arm to trap her torso under him.

"Yield?" he asked sweetly.

"Where did your weapon go?" the question came out before she even knew she was asking it.

"Before this one tripped you he dropped it so he wouldn't accidentally hurt you."

It was quite obvious that he was panting under his mask as the two of them spoke.

"Since you've bested me I suppose it's only fair that I buy you a drink," Cassandra admitted.

"And here this one thought he could ask to buy you one." another blush crept across her cheeks.

"You are so lovely when you are not scowling or frowning, but turning as red as flawless rubies," he told her.

He was flirting with her, of all the people to flirt with, he was flirting with her.

She even felt the tips of her ears heating up.

"Perhaps you should let me up now," she said calmly, though her thoughts were not calm, they were as scrambled as eggs.

"Of course, but khajiit will hold you to that drink." he held out a hand to her after he got off the ground.

Albeit reluctant, she took his offered hand.

After she was on her feet, he did not let go of her hand like she had expected he would.

He pulled down his mask and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles before finally releasing his hold on her hand.

As she walked away she heard the khajiit laugh subtly, causing her to glance down at her knuckles where he had kissed her.

That night as she attempted to sleep, she thought of that moment before a thought hit her.

"How did he kiss my hand without lips?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter without Translations? That's crazy!  
> Hopefully the ships all start to reveal themselves in the coming chapters.  
> Anyway, I really think this might've been my most serious chapter yet since the khajiit found themselves in Thedas.  
> More jokes and funtimes ahead, but be warned whatever events I do parts on will probably not be in the canonical order in which they actually happened.  
> [Vanilla's Tumblr](https://thevanillahorizon.tumblr.com)


	9. Hiding on Bookshelves and Explaining Runes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reluctantly, J'zargo agrees to not use runes to piss anyone off anymore. Bull and N'feri chat. Josephine spends her morning looking for one of the resident magical cats. Dorian lies for J'zargo. Sick and snotty Sera gets carried back to bed. Josephine witnesses Nocturnal's blessing. ~~New~~ Old magic is flowing throughout the ancient fortress of Skyhold and only a select few have noticed its presence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1/5 ships have been added to the tags, although not quite established.  
> It appears my chapter titles keep getting longer as time goes by. I'll try to remedy that. Maybe. Probably not. Anyway, enjoy.

N'feri had already told her three companions about Leliana and Cullen's plans long before morning came around.

The four of them had agreed that they could work with such ideas.

"At least we will not be stuck here all the time." Inigo pointed out the positive view of things.

"As if we were ever truly stuck." J'zargo scoffed.

N'feri shook her head and chuckled.

"We know next to nothing of this place so it would be in our best interest to go along with whatever it is they are planning for us," Kharjo told the group.

"Meaning no more frost runes or runes in general with the specific purpose of pissing anyone off," N'feri added.

J'zargo grumbled an agreement before the three men left to head back to their rooms for the night.

***

N'feri made her way to the tavern shortly before the sun had even risen.

"Do you ever sleep, Cabot?" she questioned the dwarf behind the bar.

"Maybe I do, and then maybe I don't."

She hummed softly, "Perhaps I can get a drink and something to eat?" she asked politely.

Cabot just answered with a grunt before he turned his attention away from her.

Seeing that she was one of only three people there, she decided to take up residence at a table instead of the bar.

While she waited for her food, she started to read a book that Dorian had suggested to her.

"Look what the cat dragged in." Bull appeared beside her table.

"I almost took offense to that, Bull," she hummed before she raised her tankard to her mouth.

Without looking up from the book she was reading, she could tell he had taken a seat across the table from her by the noise the chair had made.

"What are you doing here?" she asked the Qunari as she turned the page.

"Me? Just felt like getting up a bit early-" he trailed off for a minute as if rethinking his words, "Thought about asking the commander to spar a bit if he's not busy."

N'feri raised her eyes to meet Bull's gaze.

"He will be busy, he commands an army after all."

Her reply gained a thoughtful noise from the Qunari before he nodded in agreement.

"You're probably right, but maybe a mysterious and badass cat can take me," He suggested just as Cabot brought them their food.

A purring laugh erupted from her chest as she pulled down her mask.

"Should anyone else have called me a cat, I would've skinned them and taken their flesh for alchemical purposes, but you are different," she admitted.

"You have yourself a sparring partner, Bull."

The Qunari smiled as he raised his drink, "Cheers," he said.

N'feri gladly complied, "Cheers." she raised her drink to his as a smirk came across her feline features.

Her day just got a bit more exciting.

***

Josephine spent her morning trying to find either J'zargo or N'feri to ask them about the magic that he had used on his tail, but so far she couldn't find either of them and neither could Leliana.

"Perhaps they just wish to not be found," Dorian told her when she came up to him and asked about the two khajiit who seemed to have vanished into thin air as soon as the sun raised.

"They have to be around here somewhere, perhaps you should check the tavern for N'feri, J'zargo told me that she enjoys taverns," he suggested.

"This early?" she sounded utterly confused by the very thought.

Dorian chuckled, "Yes, this early." Josephine shook her head, took his advice, and then headed toward the tavern.

"J'zargo, you can come down from there, she's gone," Dorian whispered as he grabbed a book from the shelf.

A soft thud caused him to look beside him, where J'zargo was now standing, "J'zargo thanks you for that, getting yelled at is not his favorite thing," he admitted.

Dorian hummed an agreement, "I don't believe it is anyone's favorite thing." he handed J'zargo the book he was holding before Josephine came looking for him.

"Just stay out of trouble for a few days, and maybe neither of us will get yelled at for this."

"Khajiit can attempt to stay out of trouble, but no promises." he turned the book over in his hands to read the title.

"Thank you for letting J'zargo borrow this and he will return it once he is done." and with that, he left Dorian to his reading.

***

Bull and N'feri were still mostly alone in the tavern when a sniffling, sneezing, coughing elf that N'feri had yet to meet had made herself known.

"Shove over," she huffed before she flopped down beside Bull, effectively almost knocking him over.

The poor girl looked like she'd fallen victim to a herd of rampaging horker in her sleep.

"Good to see you're still alive, Sera," Bull greeted.

"And who's this?" Sera asked as she waved her hand toward N'feri before she coughed a rather ugly sounding cough.

"I am N'feri, apparently I am one of Kira's newest traveling companions and a member of the Inquisition even if Red and her ravens don't like it."

Bull's laugh carried throughout the mostly empty tavern.

"Don't let her hear you talking like that, she'll probably kick your ass, Kitty."

"I'd like to see her try," she purred.

Their conversation was cut short by Sera loudly sneezing.

"Woah, Sera, you don't look so good," Bull turned his attention to the snot-nosed elf.

"Can it, you giant tit." she sniffled and wiped her nose on the blanket that was wrapped around her shoulders, "I'm just fine," she argued, although the 'fine' came out sounding awful.

"Perhaps you should still be resting, because should you truly be fine, you wouldn't have pronounced the word as find, come let us get you to bed." N'feri stood up and guided Sera to her feet.

Sera groaned before falling into N'feri's arms.

"I ain't going anywhere with you," she mumbled against N'feri's neck, causing Bull to start laughing.

"I can carry her if you need me to," Bull offered just before N'feri hoisted the elf into her arms.

"Perhaps you can show me to her room given I don't know where it is and since she's already asleep." N'feri's words were confirmed by the soft snore Sera let out.

The Qunari just nodded with a smile before getting up to show N'feri the way.

***

"Cabot, have you seen a woman around here in a black set of light armor wearing a cape, mask, and hood?" Josephine asked the dwarf upon entering the tavern.

"The one with the tail?"

"Uhm, yes." She nodded, a bit unnerved by how he knew the khajiit had a tail.

Cabot just pointed over his shoulder, "The Qunari and her just took the feisty elf back to bed."

"Ah, yes, thank you," she told the man before she headed towards Sera's room.

***

Bull opened the door for N'feri as she adjusted her hold on the archer in her arms.

"I could've carried her, you know?" he told the khajiit, to which she just hummed.

"Yes, but I did, now pull back her covers."

He nodded and did as N'feri told him.

Careful not to wake the elf, she placed her gently on the bed.

"If you are not comfortable with magic, I suggest you leave," N'feri warned Bull as she sat down beside Sera.

"No thanks, I'd rather stay." N'feri could tell he didn't really want to stay but he just didn't trust her yet.

She didn't say anything in reply to his words, instead, she started examining her patient.

Certainly, she wasn't the best when it came to healing, but she doubted healing hands would cure a common cold such as the one Sera had either way.

After a bit of mumbling incoherent words, she finally decided to try something.

"Is she a rogue?" the question caught Bull off guard.

"I believe so, bow and arrow and all."

"Archery does not always mean one is a rogue, Bull," N'feri told the man.

"To be fair I have only traveled with her once or twice," he explained.

N'feri hummed in understanding.

"Let us hope Nocturnal doesn't smite me with a curse of bad luck for this then."

He started to ask who Nocturnal was but N'feri shushed him before he could.

Bull just watched as she pulled a small sword from the sheath on her side that he could've sworn wasn't there moments ago, laying it beside Sera gently.

The sword seemed to glow an eerie red and bore the same symbol on the hilt that her armor had on her chest.

Before his attention shifted from the weapon, she had placed a black bow that seemed to pulsate with a bright blue light down beside the sword.

That weapon he knew she didn't have on her person while they were drinking, or maybe she did and he was just getting bad at his job.

To say he was intrigued was an understatement.

N'feri started to chant something under her breath, causing the symbol on her chest and on the sword to glow.

Bull noticed shortly after she started chanting that the bow too had that strange symbol on it once it too started to glow.

***

Josephine had just started to near Sera's room when she heard what sounded like a distant army chanting as they marched.

When she actually came to the elf's room though she found out it was no army she was hearing.

N'feri's mask was down and Josephine could see the woman's mouth moving as she spoke whispers in what seemed to be a hundred different voices.

The echoing whispers stopped once N'feri's palm touched the symbol on her chest.

"Nocturnal, grant her your blessing." she moved her hand toward the area above Sera's heart, trailing red, light blue and deep purple strands of magic from each symbol toward the elf.

A blanket of magic seemed to cover her before seeping into her, just before a contented hum escaped her lips and a smile came to her sleeping face.

N'feri looked up to find Josephine standing in the doorway with a look of wonder on her face.

"I've never seen anything like that before," she told the khajiit, gaining Bull's attention as well.

"I must really be getting bad at my job if you can sneak up on me," Bull whispered to himself.

"You just witnessed a blessing from Nocturnal which is something usually only gained by praying at a shrine to her."

She stood and flung her bow onto her back, "She may be harder to detect for a while, seeing as the blessing makes sneaking much easier, but other than that, when she wakes her ailment will be completely gone."

The sword was sheathed at her waist once again as she started to walk out of the room.

"Wait, Miss Ysmir, or do you prefer Stormcrown? Either way, I had some questions," Josephine hurried to catch up with her.

"I prefer to be called N'feri, for those are not surnames but titles."

"Oh, I apologize then, but I was hoping to speak to you about J'zargo's magic," Josephine admitted.

N'feri stopped midstep, "Oh no, what has he done now?" she rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

"He hasn't done anything, today anyway, at least to my knowledge."

The khajiit hummed, "Oh, that's good then, but what did you wish to talk about?"

"The magic he used on the man following him." Josephine wiggled her fingers as if trying to do magic herself.

"It was a frost rune, a trap of sorts in the destruction magic class, relatively harmless in most situations, especially in comparison to the fire, lightning and poison runes, do you wish to know more?"

Josephine shook her head.

"I really would."

"Well, a frost rune, while it can cause damage to whoever triggers it, can also slow down the person who triggers it, let us go somewhere else and I will demonstrate."

The two women walked off, N'feri telling her about the various runes, and Josephine holding onto her every word.

***

Solas was deep in concentration when he felt it.

Souls chanting an all but forgotten magic and a blessing bestowed from the gods onto those who were not deities.

He reached to the wall to steady himself as he started to feel like he was about to pass out.

The old magic was alive, and he had no say so in how it was being used.

Almost no one noticed the stones of Skyhold's walls faintly glowing with the pulse of lost magic, but he did.

***

Morrigan heard rather than felt the shifting magic around her, though the nearby templars seemed to have not noticed it.

"Kieran, did you hear that?" she whispered to her son.

When he did not reply she glanced up to find him reaching toward one of the stones in the wall that looked to be enchanted somehow.

"This isn't supposed to be here." he shook his head then walked away, leaving Morrigan to curiously stare at the stone by herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's probably just me, but I find the mutual hostility between Leliana and N'feri absolutely hilarious because look how much alike they are! Both of them are pretty secretive, sneaky, untrusting unless they know the person well enough. I just find it funny is all.  
> Again, no translation links because none were needed this chapter around.  
> [Vanilla's Tumblr](https://thevanillahorizon.tumblr.com)


	10. Puppy Eyes for a Khajiit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People are starting to take notice of some of the longing looks going around Skyhold. J'zargo teaches Dorian something new. N'feri has a hangover and Kira invites her to venture along with her anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is a few hundred words shorter than the usual ones but have it anyway.

Several days had passed since N'feri had healed Sera's ailment and Bull still couldn't help but be intrigued when he looked at the khajiit.

"Watch it she might be too much beast for even you to handle, Bull." Krem jokingly elbowed the Qunari when he caught him staring at the small khajiit across the tavern.

"Oh, does our resident mercenary have a thing for one of the mysterious strangers?" Varric asked playfully.

Bull becoming flustered was not something that happened, but somehow, he found himself lost for words for a bit.

"I'm just intrigued is all." he finally managed to spit the words out.

Varric chuckled, "Hey, don't worry, I won't tell." he took a drink from his tankard.

"Plus I bet you're not the only one who has a thing for one of our newcomers." Dalish subtly nudged her head toward a nearby table where Cassandra had been shooting glances at one of N'feri's companions most of the night.

"The seeker?" Krem's expression changed to one of confusion, "Really?"

Dalish just nodded, "Just look at her, if that isn't the look of a lovestruck fool, then I don't know what is."

"Now this is what I call good subplot," Varric muttered to himself as he seemingly pulled some parchment out of nowhere and started to write something down.

***

"Kharjo, I believe someone has been making puppy eyes after you for most of the night," N'feri told her friend before she finished off her drink.

A chuckle was all she got in reply for a moment as he took a moment to look around at the patrons.

"Roliter, it appears this one is not the only one with an admirer tonight in this tavern." (Ta'agra: Sister) he subtly nodded his head toward the group in the corner.

"Feels quite odd to be admired and not looked upon as lowlifes by those that are not our own species, doesn't it?" she asked him.

He hummed softly, "Perhaps this place is different than home, though this one does not know yet if it is in a good way or a bad way yet."

"The way they treat their mages is awful, the way the humans treat most elves is awful, but on the bright side, most of the people we have met here are kind ones."

"Yes, the company isn't that bad." He laughed before glancing over at the seeker and meeting her eyes, almost immediately causing her face to take on a deep shade of red.

N'feri smirked, "Yes, perhaps the company isn't so bad."

***

Dorian felt ridiculous, that's the only way he could explain it.

Sitting on the floor of J'zargo's room, blindfolded and trying to make a ball of light appear out of thin air was not how he imagined he would be spending his night.

"Now, focus on your thoughts, ignore the magic you know, feel the air around you and imagine an ethereal light forming in your palm." J'zargo's voice was calm and soothing.

"Now breathe in and let the darkness consume your sight, can you see the ball of light you wish to create?"

Dorian nodded, "Good, now keep that focus, because J'zargo is going to take your blindfold off."

Once the blindfold was off he opened his eyes and what he saw was incredible, he was holding a sphere of light.

"Now, concentrate and straighten your arm out toward the ceiling slowly and imagine that ball of light is as weightless as a soap bubble, floating on the air."

Dorian did as he was told and the sphere took flight.

A giddy laugh escaped him when he saw it bounce once and then stick to the ceiling.

"I did it, I really did it!" 

"This one told you that it was as simple as reading a book." the khajiit laughed.

"Yes, but I didn't believe you, especially when the book just up and vanished as soon as I was done reading it." he motioned wildly with his hands as he spoke.

Dorian couldn't contain his excitement any longer, "Can you teach me more?" he asked.

"I mean that was just exhilarating!"

J'zargo just laughed at the man's unbridled excitement, "Perhaps later, but for now you will need to work on deepening your magicka pool, so practice the spell you know until it is completely perfected, then practice some more, and then maybe J'zargo can talk N'feri into parting with another spellbook once you have worked with this enough."

Dorian was still smiling widely as he stared at the magelight stuck to the ceiling, "I can work with that."

***

Kira had caught up with N'feri the next morning just as she left her room, "N'feri, just the woman I was looking for!" N'feri cringed a bit when Kira's voice echoed around inside of her hungover head, causing her whole head to thump.

"One moment, please." N'feri groaned as she walked over to the nearby window.

She then stuck her head out and wretched wildly, only to pull her head back in and hold a finger up to halt the Inquisitor for just another moment while she pulled a red potion from the satchel on her hip and downed the contents.

"Okay, now as you were saying?"

"I was going to ask if you were willing to head out with me today, but seeing as you're sick I suppose I have my answer."

N'feri tilted her head for a moment before opening her mouth in understanding, "Oh, that!" she laughed, "No, that was just from a hangover, a bit too much drinking and all, I'd be happy to accompany you." she nodded.

Kira smiled widely, "Bull will also be coming, another one of my companions and perhaps one of your companions if you wish." 

"Kharjo could use a bit of fresh air, he's not used to being cooped up so much."

"Perhaps Cassandra might accompany us as well, I have a feeling she's getting a bit tired of sitting around with nothing to do as well," Kira told her, though Kira knew the real reason was because of the plan Cullen and Leliana had cooked up.

N'feri hummed, "Question involving your ambassador, Inquisitor." she started down the hall beside the Qunari.

Kira hummed, "Is she romantically available?" the khajiit wasn't going to dance around the question.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Kira could feel her face heating up because of the topic.

Clearing her throat she finally managed to piece together a reply, "I thought you and Bull were-" the raised eyebrow she got from N'feri made her change her mind about that trail of conversation, "I just didn't know you would be interested in someone like Josephine."

A hysterical laugh broke the uneasy silence quickly.

"Oh, I assure you she is my type, truthfully, almost everyone is my type, but no I was asking for Inigo, he seems to be quite taken with her."

A resounding sound of understanding came from Kira soon after the pieces all clicked together in her head.

"That makes so much more sense."

N'feri purred in reply, "If the Commander didn't have an eye for you then perhaps even you would be my type." a flirtatious tone took place of her usual monotone one.

Kira sputtered indignantly, though from the openness of N'feri's flirtations or the newfound revelation involving Cullen who knew.

***

"I'm just asking, Kitty, if maybe you think it might be better to change into some sturdier armor." Kira walked up to Bull just as he and N'feri had words.

"Rich words coming from the man with his entire chest out and on display." Kira couldn't help but laugh at the two as they argued.

"Actually the armor she has on is quite sturdy, she has taken down many dragons in that very set of armor." Kharjo walked up behind her, followed closely by Cassandra.

Bull was about to retort when the words Kharjo had just said settled in.

"Wait, you've killed dragons?"

N'feri pulled her mask down and gave him a look that completely envisioned the word 'duh' before raising an eyebrow.

"I am the Dragonborn after all, Bull." her words came out as a sultry purr.

"Boss!" he shouted even though she was right beside them, "Can we please go kill a dragon?"

He had the look of an eager child on his face which caused Kira to start laughing.

"Maybe, but no promises."

"Let us do this then!" N'feri's excitement had both Cassandra and Kharjo shaking their heads at her while a bright smile came to Bull's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excuse me while I ignore everything else I should be doing in order to write more fanfiction. Either way, the leaves are falling, the air has that wonderful chill to it, and it's been raining for two straight days. It's wonderful! Also, feel free to check out some of my other fanfictions while you're relaxing and be sure to support your local fandom nerds.  
> ~ V  
> [Tumblr](https://thevanillahorizon.tumblr.com)
> 
> [Special thanks to The Ta'agra Project for the translations used in this chapter.](https://www.taagra.com/dictionary.php)


	11. Two Arrows and Ram Stew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two arrows to down a dragon but N'feri absorbs no soul. Dorian senses some discomfort on J'zargo's part so he uses ram stew as a deterrent. Kira is probably going to get in trouble for punching a dragon and Inigo offers Josephine a bit of assistance when he finds her sorely needing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a bit longer than I had planned for it to take, but here you are either way. Enjoy!

Everything had happened so fast that Kira had no idea what happened.

First, N'feri asked if they could refrain from making noise or drawing the dragon's attention and everyone but Kharjo seemed to know exactly what was going on at that exact moment.

Kira had started to ask what she meant because she didn't hear nor see any dragons nearby.

Then they had heard the dragon and the next thing she knew N'feri and Kharjo were gone.

The two khajiit had basically disappeared right before her eyes just as the dragon swooped overhead.

Bull nudged her and pointed for her to look up at a nearby rock while she and Cassandra turned around wildly as they tried to spot the two khajiit.

If that dragon didn't kill her then surely Leliana would, she could already hear it.

How do you even lose not one but two entire people right from under your nose?

"Boss, just look!" Bull whispered loudly to her from where he stood.

She finally looked where Bull was pointing and could not believe her eyes, N'feri perched on the rock so incredibly still that she was basically invisible unless you were looking for her specifically.

Her armor and cloak made her look like just a shadow from the leafy overhang.

"Inquisitor, please be quieter, N'feri is trying to listen for the dragon's tongue."

Kharjo had silently appeared beside her sometime during their confusion.

"What in the maker's name do you mean?" Cassandra asked him quickly.

The sound of soft footsteps approaching drew them out of their inevitable argument before it even started.

"I will explain later, but for now, perhaps we can go about bringing a dragon down?"

"Oh, and how do you plan on doing that?" Cassandra snipped at her as she pulled her mask down enough to show her face.

"Simple, I'm an archer." the animalistic smile that accompanied the words sent a chill up Kira's spine.

Cassandra started to open her mouth, but the dragon soared above their heads once again, cutting off any argument before she could make it.

"Trust me, Seeker and I'll show you that I can shoot just as well as any Bosmer I know." 

Before Cassandra could speak again, N'feri's ears perked up, and her eyes went to the sky.

A strange ball of magic appeared in the khajiit's hand and she released the spell just before she turned on her heel, taking off through the trees until she was no longer under cover of foliage.

Kharjo quickly followed and the other three trailed not far behind him.

Not one of the three of them were making a single sound under the muffle spell N'feri had cast upon them as they followed her through the trees.

Bull could tell that she was an expert at what she was doing.

Why someone would need to become an expert at running through the woods at breakneck speed, he wouldn't venture a guess.

She was from a seemingly entire different world after all, so who was he to judge.

Her bow was already drawn by the time she came to a stop and Kharjo too had drawn his.

Both of the khajiit were aiming for the sky where the dragon was circling above.

Cassandra started to berate the two but her voice was silent as she tried to tell them that they would not be able to actually hit the dragon with their arrows.

Kharjo sent her a sideways glance just as the dragon circled once again.

One breath in and on the next exhale, N'feri fired.

The arrow soared through the air and needless to say, Bull, Kira, and Cassandra, all three were beyond surprised when the dragon's head reared back and it's path of flight faltered.

An injured roar of pain echoed all around them as the dragon attempted to dislodge the arrow that had struck its eye.

Kharjo let pulled his bowstring taught and he too let an arrow loose towards the beast.

Two arrows, that's all it took to get the dragon to land.

Bull didn't know if he should be envious, scared, or aroused by the idea of someone being able to get a flying dragon to land so easily without drawing attention to themselves.

Either way, he was more than happy to get a chance to kill a dragon.

The muffle spell wore off just as N'feri turned toward the group behind her.

"Care to join me, Bull?" She winked playfully at the Qunari as she nodded toward the clearing the dragon had landed in.

"Fuck yes!"

***

Dorian sat with a book on his lap, absentmindedly casting magelight between turns of a page while he read.

He was still rather giddy at the thought of learning such an ability.

Magic that wasn't connected to the fade, who would've ever guessed, certainly not him, that's for sure.

Even Solas was a bit intrigued when he saw the Altus casting in such a way, though the elf didn't say anything about it, just asked where he learned such a thing.

Dorian had simply told him that he learned it from a book and quickly changed the subject.

J'zargo and N'feri trusted him with such a thing and he wasn't about to go blabbing about it to everyone around Skyhold.

Not to mention that they would probably think he was going mad if he mentioned anything about reading a disappearing spellbook.

Either way, he wasn't taking any chances, he was rather growing to like the two strange mages.

Though he didn't quite know if he wanted to believe that they came from an entirely different world or not.

He could picture them coming from an unknown or uncharted land across the waking sea but an entirely different world all together was a bit far fetched for even his mind to comprehend.

"You seem lost in thought." the voice startled Dorian and caused him to drop the book he was holding.

"Kaffas, stop doing that!" (Tevene: Shit) Dorian's hand reached for his chest where his heart was pounding rapidly against his ribcage.

J'zargo laughed softly, "J'zargo apologizes, he forgets that you are not as accustomed to soft-footed mages as some others might be."

"You make it sound as though most mages from where you come from are naturally stealthy." Dorian marked his page and placed the book down on the table beside him.

The khajiit mage started to purr a bit as he pulled his mask down to reveal the lower proportion of his face.

"Yes, that is because most of them are usually at least a little bit practiced in the art of stealth."

This caught Dorian's full attention.

"Truly?" J'zargo could almost see the fascination rolling off of the man in waves.

A simple nod was all Dorian received in reply as J'zargo turned his attention to the nearby bookshelf.

Dorian huffed indignantly when he realized that he wasn't going to get much more out of the fur-covered mage on the subject.

"J'zargo sees that you have been practicing your magelight," he said as he retrieved a book from one of the lower shelves.

The expression on the Altus' face quickly turned into one of pleasure filled excitement once again.

"Yes, it truly is fascinating, magic that can be done without accessing the fade, truth be told I find it quite extraordinary," Dorian told the khajiit and with a flick of his wrist, he produced another magelight and sent it to stick to the ceiling above them.

When Dorian turned his attention back to J'zargo he found that the khajiit was staring at him in what most would argue was a very intense way.

Truthfully that gaze made Dorian's next words, whatever they may have been, catch in his throat.

The two men just stared at each other for what seemed to be quite a long time before the sound of approaching footsteps drew both of their attention to the steps.

"Ah, J'zargo, just who I wished to speak to." the voice and footsteps belonged to Solas.

The khajiit hummed his acknowledgments before shifting on his feet, clearly uncomforted by the elf's presence.

"I was hoping you could tell me more about your friend, N'feri and her talents."

Dorian caught the moment when J'zargo's fur visibly bristled so he decided to intervene.

"Unfortunately, Solas, we were just about to head to the tavern for a bit, perhaps you could wait and ask N'feri herself later."

Quickly crossing over to the khajiit, he rested his palm on his lower back and smiled at the elf.

"Of course." Solas could tell when he was outmaneuvered and sadly this was one of those very few times.

"Come now, J'zargo, I hear Cabot makes a rather delicious ram stew." Dorian quickly led the khajiit passed Solas.

Solas simply watched the two men cautiously as they walked until they were out of his sight.

***

"I can't believe you two downed a dragon with only two arrows, just wait until Varric hears about this!" Kira was brimming with excitement.

N'feri and Bull were both bent over panting, covered almost head to toe, or tail in N'feri's case in dragon blood.

"Roliter, the dragon isn't-" (Ta'agra: Sister) Kharjo waved his hands around in the air a bit, unsure of how he should go about the subject with others around that did not know of the Nordic legends.

"Bana, zrimith?" (Ta'agra: Shaking, glowing) she guessed he was asking about the soul which she did not absorb.

"Liter, athra'a jaadi sajoh rabi, not here, not like home." (Ta'agra: Brother, souls they do<[not] have) she shook her head sadly, unaware of Bull's lingering eye as she spoke.

Kharjo simply nodded before turning his attention back to Kira who was now holding Cassandra by the shoulders and practically begging her not to tell Cullen or Leliana about how she punched the dragon in the jaw when her mana ran low.

"What was that about, Kitty?" Bull's voice pulled N'feri from her wandering thoughts.

"Just speaking of the differences between the dragons back home and the ones that are here." she brushed a bit of nonexistent dirt from her shoulder as she spoke.

He knew there was more to it than that, but he decided not to press for information.

She was smarter than she let on and he knew that if he tried to get information from her now that she would get suspicious and clam up.

"Now, if you don't mind, I have some scales and bones I intend to collect." with those words, N'feri was walking toward the corpse of the dragon and leaving him to wonder what the two khajiit were really talking about.

***

A knock at her door drew her attention away from the stack of papers she was going through.

"Yes, come in!" she hurried to straighten up some of the mess on her desk quickly.

"Ah, Lady Montilyet, am I interrupting?" she glanced up to find Inigo at in the doorway, lowering his mask so she could see him.

She shook her head and motioned for him to wait while she moved around a few piles of paper.

"Please, you may call me Josephine." 

"No, of course not, just dealing with a few things-" in an attempt to make her desk more presentable, she accidentally knocked off a pile of papers into the floor.

She said something in a language that Inigo didn't understand but he could almost guess that it was a short string of curse words.

"Such colorful words." he chuckled as he bent down to assist her in cleaning up the mess.

"You speak Antivan?" she covered her mouth in embarrassment and readied an apology but Inigo quickly shook his head.

"No, but when you travel with N'feri long enough you start to recognize that tone and you know to run because she's cursing and probably going to throw something at someone or someone at something."

His reply caused Josephine to laugh as she started to sort some of the papers into piles.

"I almost forgot to ask you what you needed, I'm so sorry," she told him as soon as the papers were all gathered once again.

"I was actually just wishing to speak with you, but it appears I have caught you at a bad time, perhaps I could be of some assistance in some way or another?"

Josephine shook her head almost immediately, "No, I couldn't ask you to do such a thing and I wouldn't wish to impose."

"Nonsense, I was the one who offered my assistance, you would not be imposing, simply accepting an offer." Inigo started to purr quietly

"I suppose I could use an extra set of hands, but only if you are not busy," she admitted.

Inigo nodded happily, "Just tell me what you require and my hands are your hands for the day." his words were met with a relieved sigh from the ambassador.

"These are replies I have written to a few allies of the Inquisition, but they have not yet been sent because I haven't had the time to take them to Leliana today and at least seven of these need to get to their intended recipients by next week, do you think you could take them to her for me?"

She was pointing toward the pile of papers that they had just picked up off the floor.

"Of course, but don't be afraid to ask more of me, after all the day gets quite boring with nothing to do," he admitted.

"Plus, it seems like you could definitely use the extra assistance." he motioned towards all of the scattered documents covering a majority of her desk before retrieving the letters and heading toward the door without another word.

She knew she would probably get an ear full from Leliana later about not knowing if they can trust the khajiit with their correspondence but she would just deal with that later, perhaps much later.

She hoped the inevitable tongue lashing she would be getting from Leliana could wait a day or two, or at the least until after she finished sorting some of the countless documents that were still littering her office space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me just say this, I am still exhausted from yesterdays outing so I apologize for any screw-ups I may have made (I'll probably go back and fix them later) because even as I used Grammarly for this one I ended up with **50** additional writing issues, you know the issues that don't actually get pointed out unless you buy premium? (although some of those might be accompanied to the writing of khajiit characters in general) Yes, those ones. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this update.  
> ~ V
> 
> Here are the [Tevene](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Tevene) and [Ta'agra](https://www.taagra.com/dictionary.php) translations.  
> [Tumblr](https://thevanillahorizon.tumblr.com)


	12. Writing Romance?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varric is absolutely loving the romantic ammunition he's been collecting around Skyhold lately for his next book. Kharjo and N'feri speak about where or when they might really be and even after listening in on the conversation, Bull still has more questions than answers. Also, Inigo makes Josephine blush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be warned: I have given J'zargo an unnamed Ohmes sibling.  
>  ~~Because I really fucking love the idea of khajiit families being so various when it comes to physical attributes.~~  
>  Now 2/5 Ships have been added to the tags (As if you guys probably didn't realize who was going to like who already)

Dorian guides J'zargo toward the tavern, the khajiit still slightly unnerved by the elf's prodding.

"Thank you, Dorian, but you did not have to do that."

"I know, just felt like being something more than an untouchable beauty standard tonight and you seemed to have needed a rescue," Dorian joked.

A bit of silence overtook the two of them as J'zargo covered his face once again.

"J'zargo's knight in shimmering mage robes." The khajiit's words made Dorian burst into a laughing fit.

Maniacal cackling is what anyone else would've probably called it should they have seen Dorian bent over holding his stomach laughing so hard that tears smudged the kohl under his eyes, but J'zargo would've simply called it one of the most divine sounds he had ever heard and he has heard the mighty Dragonborn sing children lullabies at the Honorhall orphanage.

"I must say, that was rich," Dorian said as he stood back up and attempted to wipe the tears from his cheeks.

J'zargo shook his head at the man who had successfully smudged kohl across his cheek.

"You've made a mess of yourself, here, let J'zargo assist you." he pulled a cloth from the satchel at his side and reached up to wipe the smudged cosmetics away almost on instinct just as he used to do for his Ohmes sister when she was young.

He didn't even notice the fond look that Dorian had in his eyes while he watched the khajiit cautiously wiping away the ruined makeup.

J'zargo was so deeply focused that he didn't even notice Dorian start to bite the inside of his lip while the khajiit worked.

He only stopped what he was doing when Dorian brought his hand up to rest on the khajiit's wrist.

Both of their movements halted as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"I had never noticed how light of a grey your eyes really are, they're almost as white as snow," Dorian whispered.

Not far away Varric sat on an overturned crate, secretly watching the two mages, scribbling away on a piece of parchment as they stood there and had their moment in the setting sun.

"Oh, this is totally going in the next book."

***

N'feri was seated at the edge of the camp as she quietly examined the stars overhead while Kharjo was checking on the rest of their traveling companions who all appeared to be sleeping soundly.

Careful not to make a noise as he crossed the camp, he took a seat on the ground beside her.

When she noticed his unease, she slid her mask down but did not turn her attention to him.

"Roliter, the dragons?" (Ta'agra: Sister)

"Are they asleep?" she asked without shifting her gaze toward him.

He hummed his reply and she sighed quietly, lowering her eyes after meeting his for a single fleeting moment.

In that single moment, he could almost swear he saw fear in those eyes.

"You saw the difference yourself, they have four legs here, but there is even more to it than just that," she told him.

Kharjo motioned for her to continue before he removed his hood and mask from his face completely, laying it on the ground beside him.

"They are female dragons and they appear to be very primitive, perhaps that is why I was unable to communicate with her." her eyes surveyed the surrounding woods carefully as she spoke.

"That was probably why there was no soul when you slew it," he guessed.

"I do not know why, but things are much different here, but at the same time they are similar." she raised her hand toward the stars.

His eyes followed as she motioned toward the moons.

"The moons are similar, perhaps even the same, perhaps they are older here, but then again, maybe they are younger, also you can look to the stars and the holes in Aetherius do not make the same patterns as they do back home."

N'feri's voice was somehow steady but shaky at the same time as she spoke.

"You think that we are not in a different plane, nor do you think we are in a different world, but perhaps a different time?" he questioned.

"Now you're getting it, remember when Kira mentioned the dragon at Haven?"

Kharjo simply nodded, recalling the day they had met the horned giant.

"You mean that Alduin may not be-" N'feri's hand quickly cut off whatever he was about to say.

"The cycle, Kharjo." Her eyes were seemingly staring into his very soul as she removed her hand from his mouth, "That is the only explanation I can come up with," she admitted.

He leaned close to her side, "If the dragons here are primitive as you say, then it's quite possible that we are in the past, in a previous cycle, yes?" his voice was nothing more than a whisper as he spoke.

"I believe we may be in the beginning of the very cycle that we came from, Liter," (Ta'agra: Brother) she told him.

"And if that is the case, then we may have trouble getting back home," she added quietly.

A near deafening silence overtook them as they sat there staring at the stars for what seemed like hours as they thought about such implications.

"N'feri, what if we do not wish to go back?"

Upon hearing his question, her ears shifted forward in surprise.

She stumbled over the beginning of several words before shaking her head quietly.

"I simply did not think of that," she admitted.

"Maybe we were all four sent here for a reason, perhaps to find a happiness that we could not find back home, or for you to help save the world once again, yes?" he jokingly shoved her shoulder as a smile appeared on his face.

"Ah, yes, it is as Inigo said 'bad adventure tale' indeed," she said as she shook her head exasperatedly just before Kharjo yawned loudly.

"This one appears to be tired, so he will head to bed now, but perhaps you should speak with J'zargo of things such as these once we return to Skyhold," he suggested.

She hummed thoughtfully before agreeing and sending him a silent nod as he headed toward his tent.

***

The flap of the tent was pulled back quietly and though whoever it was that peeked inside may have thought that he was asleep, he was very much not sleeping.

Bull just knew how to act the part.

He was hoping to be able to catch N'feri after everyone retired for the night but her friend or companion or whatever he happens to be to her was still awake so an actual private conversation was out of the question.

That's how he found himself listening intently to the conversation between the two khajiit.

He could only make out a few of the words from where his tent was without shifting around, but that would've probably attracted their attention, so he decided to stick it out where he was and try for whatever he could get.

Most of what he could make out was talk of the dragons being primitive and something about the beginning of a cycle.

Bull decided that he would need to try other ways to get information about the strange woman and her three companions if he really wanted to get anything from them.

***

Kira and N'feri were in the front of their party, leading the way as they spoke vividly about wyverns with Bull close behind them and hanging on to their every word.

That left Cassandra and Kharjo walking behind the other three members of their group, in a thick but not quite uncomfortable silence.

"Lady Pentaghast?" the khajiit walking beside Cassandra started to speak.

She looked beside her to find Kharjo staring at her with an unreadable expression, even without the mask covering his face.

"You don't need to call me 'Lady Pentaghast' when Seeker or Cassandra will do just fine," she told him.

Her tone could've easily been taken as a scolding one but Kharjo already knew better, she was being friendly, in her own little way at least and that thought made him start purring.

"Then this one shall call you by name, Cassandra."

When he said her name he did so with his accent becoming much thicker than it was in the mere moments before.

Almost instantly her entire face turned a deep shade of red and her teeth clenched tightly as she attempted to not let her embarrassment show.

"You good back there, Seeker?" Bull had turned around to speak to her.

"I am just fine, turn back around," she commanded him.

The Qunari chuckled as he turned his attention back to the two women in front of him who had now changed the subject of their conversation to the casual in-fight dismemberment of foes.

Bull should've been at least a bit worried about how much N'feri knew about how to take off someone's limbs during battle, but if the Inquisitor trusted her then that was good enough for him for the time being, even if he still had a lot more questions than answers. 

***

Inigo seemed beyond happy to be of assistance while he had nothing better to do and for that Josephine couldn't have been happier.

Leliana didn't like the idea but Josephine trusted the khajiit and enjoyed his company just as much as she enjoyed having an extra set of hands to help her when she needed them.

If she found herself wanting to throw something then somehow Inigo sensed it and started to tell her a story or a joke from his home.

More often times than not, they were stories about his three khajiit friends and their many various adventures.

She was grateful for such a calming presence.

The purr that often accompanied him as they worked alongside each other, most of the time in silence, also did wonders for her tension when it came to replying to some foreign dignitaries.

"And there flew poor Barbas up into the air as we tried to flee the giant's camp, dragging a humongous bag full of sleeping tree sap and mammoth tusks when finally N'feri got fed up with it and belted out a shout, freezing the giant solid where he stood, just before she caught Barbas in her arms, saving him from the fall."

Josephine's hand flew to her mouth in an attempt to cover her rather unattractive laughter, but not before she had already snorted quite loudly.

Inigo just smiled at her as she tried not to snort in laughter again.

"She didn't think to leave Barbas in Whiterun with Lydia and Lucia while you two retrieved these things?" she asked.

He shook his head, "I suppose she did not, I mean he was a speaking dog so you would figure he'd know when to keep his mouth shut though, but he barked right as we started to leave, waking the giant."

"Oh my goodness, that shouldn't be as funny as it is," she told the khajiit who just purred in reply.

"Yes, well it appears that I have taken enough of your time, so I should see myself out." He stood to leave but Josephine's voice stopped him.

"Inigo?" his ears perked up as he glanced down at her, "Thank you for all of your help today, and for the story, I think I needed the distraction."

"For a beautiful woman?" he started, "I'd do it again anytime, but only if that beautiful woman was you," he told her before finally walking away, leaving her standing there speechless as she watched him leave without so much as another word.

Her hand reached up to touch the side of her face where she felt the heat rising to her cheeks.

"If you meant to make me blush as if I were a young and overly sheltered chantry girl, then you have completely succeeded, Inigo," she said quietly after she thought he was out of earshot.

Her words were nothing more than a whisper in the room he had just left, but Inigo still heard them in the hall as he pulled his mask up to cover his now smiling face.

"Anything for a beauty such as yours," he sighed as he continued down the hall.

Inigo hadn't even noticed the dwarf he walked by as he exited the room, but Varric heard both sides of their one-sided conversation.

His fans were going to eat his next book up for sure.

"After all, who doesn't like tales of forbidden love?" he muttered to himself before finally walking into Josephine's office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't begin to tell you guys how many times I've been dead ass in the middle of writing dialogue for this story when I realize that the khajiit I have been writing for isn't N'feri or Inigo (Who both use 'I' and 'me' instead of 'This one' or their name) halfway through and that forces me to go all the way back through and adjust their speech patterns.  
> If it weren't for Varric then this chapter would've had almost zero humor, so give it up for one of my favorite rogues!  
> [Ta'agra](https://www.taagra.com/dictionary.php)  
> [Tumblr](https://thevanillahorizon.tumblr.com)


	13. It's Khajiiti Intuition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N'feri teases Bull a little. J'zargo goes MIA, worrying Dorian a little. A peak into J'zargo's past via dialogue. Bull teases N'feri a little and Inigo chats with Cullen about his crush on Kira.  
> Who knew Inigo could be so good with words?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update?? I still breathe! I just haven't been having that much luck with writing.  
> (AKA I've had killer writer's block and even art block since doing both Fictober and some of Inktober)  
> Basically all of this chapter happens simultaneously, or at least on the same day- you get what I mean.

The morning had come, and the feeling that came with it was one of a distant but rapidly approaching storm.

For khajiit, it was like second nature to be able to sense such things.

Even though the sky was clear, a storm was coming, and Kharjo knew this from the very way the air subtly shifted his fur.

"You feel it as well?" N'feri asked as they packed up their camp.

He silently nodded his reply as he turned his line of sight toward the distant skies.

"Something wrong over there, Kitty?" the nickname that Bull had given her would have usually resulted in a fight if the name came from anyone else, but the way he said it had seemed somewhat endearing to her.

"Just discussing how horribly you snore," she replied as she sent Kharjo a subtle wink.

"If you think that's bad, then you should hear me after a good lay, I've woke myself up snoring like that."

His comment gained a disgusted noise from Cassandra almost immediately.

"Bull, what did I tell you about making Cassandra make revolted noises?" Kira asked.

"Not to?" Bull had guessed.

"Exactly, but I do agree with N'feri, your snoring is horribly loud."

***

Josephine looked up from her desk just as Inigo knocked on the doorframe leading into her office.

"Thank goodness you're here, I need to ask you about J'zargo."

"What did he do now?" Inigo's reply was almost an immediate reflex.

Josephine gave him a questioning look.

"He has done nothing, at least to my immediate knowledge," she told him.

Inigo motioned for her to continue.

"Dorian stopped by this morning asking if I knew where he was, but no one has seen him since late last night after he left the tavern, and even Leliana's spies have not seen him."

Inigo's ears flicked slightly under his hood as she spoke.

He closed his eyes and shook his head sadly.

"I'll find him," Inigo told her.

"Truth be told, I believe Dorian is worried because he might be a bit taken with J'zargo."

"I believe I may have noticed that on J'zargo's behalf as well."

***

Overlooking the courtyard of Skyhold that afternoon, J'zargo sat with an amulet held tightly in the palm of his hand.

"Thinking about that thoughtless moronic Nord mage?" Inigo asked as soon as he sat down on the battlements beside the mage.

"What gave you that idea?"

Inigo silently motioned toward the amulet of Mara clutched tightly in J'zargo's grasp.

"I only know a small proportion of the story, do you mind telling me more about it?" Inigo asked quietly.

For a moment, J'zargo was silent until he finally released a long breath.

"What parts of the story have N'feri told you?" J'zargo questioned him without looking away from the amulet.

"Just the basics, I know that the stupid man broke your heart, but I do not know much more than that on the subject," Inigo admitted.

"It was much more complex than that." J'zargo shook his head

Inigo stayed silent as J'zargo fidgeted with his amulet.

"When J'zargo asked if he could see a future together, he said he would love such a future, but he admitted that if such a future took place, then his family would surely disown him."

"But, you had already told your family what you had planned before he even said no," Inigo guessed.

The mage nodded, "That was why they sent the gift you three delivered, it was a goodbye present because they knew no children would come from such a marriage," he said.

"They did not approve of your preferences?" Inigo asked.

J'zargo sadly shook his head.

"That is another much gloomier story, one for another time, perhaps one with drinks," he joked.

Inigo placed a hand on J'zargo's shoulder comfortingly.

"N'feri would've been better at this, but thank you," J'zargo chuckled.

"Not everyone can slay both dragons and sadness with their voice," Inigo admitted.

For a bit, the two khajiit sat there in silence.

"You know, Dorian asked Josephine about you, I think he was worried when he couldn't find you anywhere today."

"Truly?" J'zargo's ears perked up in surprise as his eyes widened.

"Maybe the past should stay there, it gives you the chance to find a new future," Inigo said as he stood and started to walk away.

J'zargo looked down at the amulet of Mara in his hand, smiling slightly before he too stood up and made his way down from the battlements, shoving the amulet into his pocket as he walked.

***

"You know, Kitty, you never gave me that ass-kicking you said you were going to give me before we left Skyhold."

"Where would the fun be in such a fight if there were not a period of suspense beforehand, my large horned friend?" N'feri asked Bull without turning her attention towards him.

Her reply caused Kharjo to snicker, "jhazith'dro jer sajoh boka var dar alijan shabar jan zaiguna," (Ta'agra: [I] pray you do<[not] wish [to] kill him in his sleep.) he said.

"Of course not, that would be dirty of me." she laughed.

Bull looked uncomfortably between the two khajiit for a moment.

"You two make me a little nervous when you talk in that other language, makes me think you're conspiring to kill someone in their sleep," Bull told them, causing the two to laugh.

"No need to worry, as long as you're thinking it then you know we're not conspiring, because a khajiit always knows how to be discrete when planning something like that," Kharjo told him, earning a shocked expression from Cassandra who had apparently been too lost in conversation with Kira to have heard the beginning of their discussion.

"Uh, what were you three just talking about?" Kira asked once she saw Cassandra's expression.

N'feri smiled under her mask mischievously.

"Bull simply seems to believe that we are planning an assassination," she said with a shrug just as it had begun raining.

***

Cullen had just gotten word that the Inquisitor's group would be a day late returning due to an unexpected storm that had moved in on them when he found himself wandering Skyhold shortly before sunset.

Lost in his thoughts, he made his way to the battlements to watch the sun disappear beyond the horizon for the night.

"I know why I am up here so late, but why are you?" Inigo's voice startled Cullen and caused him to let out a small yelp of surprise.

"I'm still not used to just how quiet the four of you can truly be," Cullen said as he rubbed his hand across his chest where he felt his heart pounding against his ribcage.

Inigo stepped closer to stand beside the Commander and motioned for him to speak.

"I just enjoy coming up here to watch the sunset sometimes," he admitted.

A smirk came across Inigo's face, even though it could not be seen under his mask.

"Perhaps when Kira gets back, you could bring her up here to watch the sunset with you."

The khajiit's suggestion had the human beside him stumbling over his words and turning a deep shade of crimson.

"What- I don't- she's, she is-" Cullen tried to deny what Inigo was clearly assuming but Inigo simply chuckled as the khajiit crossed his arms and looked at him with amusement in his eyes.

"It's clear that you fancy her and you can't deny it." Inigo interrupted Cullen's clumsy attempt at denial.

"It is written on your face just as clear as the falling rain is wet, every time she is near, you look at her as if she were the night sky itself, a khajiit can always tell such things," he said before shaking his head at the human humorously and walking away silently as Cullen stood there without a single thing to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize that this chapter was a bit shorter than my usual ones but I'm trying to sort of play catch up while I'm actually motivated to do so before my inspiration pulls a Houdini and disappears again.  
> [The Ta'agra Project](https://www.taagra.com/dictionary.php)  
> [Vanilla's Tumblr](https://thevanillahorizon.tumblr.com)


End file.
